When surfing online forums, I have become accustomed to expecting the unexpected; however, coming across a website about new economic currencies, I was surprised to find a forum entitled ‘Medical Consult for Bitcoins.’  On this forum, individuals have written about their medical problems, agreeing to pay for medical advice posted in a response by a fellow member of the anonymous online community.  Once receiving the advice, the ‘patient’ would then pay – not with Dollars, Euros, or even Groupons – but by ‘Bitcoin.’

‘Bitcoin’ is the name of the monetary unit within the world’s first fully online payment system or currency.…

If you’re a teen in North Carolina, a new bill before the legislature may make it more difficult for you to get sexually transmitted disease testing and treatment, mental health counseling, pregnancy care or even substance abuse treatment. To receive any of those, a teen would need written, notarized parental consent. A parent could not simply give permission on the phone, via a note, or even by signing a consent form. No, the parent has to use a notary to give permission.…

Most of us know about the health risks of being obese. These include gallstones, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, coronary artery disease, stroke, sleep apnea, gout, arthritis, asthma, metabolic syndrome, cancer, and infertility. But new studies show that being obese can also have a detrimental effect on your relationship with your doctor.

A report in the journal Obesity showed that doctors “are less likely to build emotional rapport with overweight and obese patients” (Gudzune et al 2013).…

The way that the media reports on bioethics issues can have a strong influence on how information is presented and what conclusions the reporters offer to their readers and viewers. For example, this week, the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues released a report that examined whether trials on an anthrax vaccine in children should be undertaken. The idea for the trial came about from a 2011 bioterrorism exercise in San Francisco based on the scenario of an anthrax attack.…

On December 16^th, a 23 year-old female physiotherapy student was raped by six men on a private bus in New Delhi, India, while returning home from a movie theater. She has recently died, after being transferred in critical condition to a hospital in Singapore. This incident is one of many that has been plaguing India in recent years. It seems natural for us to demonize the six men who perpetrated this crime and to feel safer when they have been caught and prosecuted.…

This month’s issue features:

What Purpose Does Religion Serve for Bioethics?

Connecting Global Health Justice and Governance…

Kevin O’Rourke, O.P., J.C.D., S.T.M., Dominican priest, canon lawyer, and health care ethicist died on Wednesday.  He is one of the seminal figures in Roman Catholic health care ethics in the United States. He is the author of numerous articles but his best-known publications are text books, especially a co-authored work (with Benedict Ashley, O.P.) published by Georgetown University Press, Health Care Ethics: A Theological Analysis, fourth ed. (2007). He has been a leader in promoting respect for patients and their families to refuse unwanted and burdensome treatment at the end of life.…

It’s a tough call, but according to Jacob Appel today on the Huffington Post the saving grace is that doctors in these hospitals are still bound by the same ethical guidelines regardless of the kind of hospital they are working in, Catholic or not.…