Ethics: Today's Hot Topics

• Abortion Access: 'A Heartbeat Doesn't Make You a Person'   Abortion 'heartbeat bills' have it wrong, according to bioethicist Dr Art Caplan. Here's why.
  Medscape Business of Medicine, July 2019
• I Reported My Older Physician Friend for Competency Issues   Dr Art Caplan says screening and cognitive testing for older physicians isn't about age discrimination but rather patient safety.
  Medscape Business of Medicine, June 2019
• Stop Incentivizing Drug Companies for More Rare Disease Drugs   Time to revise the Orphan Drug Act, which gives extra payment to companies that develop drugs for rare diseases. The Act has fueled a price explosion and possibly hindered research into other drugs.
  Medscape Business of Medicine, May 2019
• Should Parents Use Their Deceased Child's Sperm to Create a Baby?   What are the ethical implications of using sperm from a beloved son after a fatal accident? Dr Art Caplan weighs in.
  Medscape Business of Medicine, May 2019
• What to Tell People Who Are Against Measles Vaccination   Dr Art Caplan discusses the measles outbreak and how to address new antivaccination arguments.
  Medscape Business of Medicine, May 2019
• Don't Call Cell Activity in a Dead Brain 'Partial Life'   You're either alive or you're not. Let's not confuse the issue, says Dr Art Caplan.
  Medscape Business of Medicine, May 2019
• No, Doctors Who Make Errors Are Not 'Second Victims' The road to fixing an unsafe system does not require making everyone involved a victim, says Dr Art Caplan.
  Medscape Business of Medicine, April 2019
• No, Patients Are NOT Consumers, and MDs Are NOT Providers   Dr Art Caplan says treating patients as consumers is bad for them and for medicine.
  Medscape Business of Medicine, April 2019
• Why the Right-to-Try Law Is a Complete Failure   Trump touted the Right-to-Try Act as a law that would benefit tens of thousands. But after a year, why has only one person been helped?
  Medscape Business of Medicine, April 2019
• Patients Hang on Your Every Word, Says Doc With New Heart   Bioethicist Art Caplan talked to transplant surgeon Robert Montgomery about what he learned as a patient when he underwent heart transplant surgery.
  Medscape Business of Medicine, April 2019
• When Is It Okay to Date a Patient?   Bioethicist Dr Art Caplan discusses considerations for deciding when romantic relationships with patients are or are not acceptable.
  Medscape Business of Medicine, April 2019
• Doctors Must Give Life-or-Death News in Person, Not by Telemedicine   Dr Art Caplan discusses the appropriate use of telemedicine and the importance of empathy in end-of-life discussions.
  Medscape Business of Medicine, April 2019
• Doctors Don't Have the Right to Threaten to Kill Patients   Dr Art Caplan discusses fired resident Lara Kollab as an example of how not to treat patients and the appropriate penalties of such threatening behavior.
  Medscape Business of Medicine, March 2019
• A 'Cruel Tool': Hospital Ads Offering False Hope   Advertisements suggesting that personalized cancer treatment can improve survival or even offer a cure are not realistic for all patients and are unethical.
  Medscape Business of Medicine, March 2019
• 'Crowdfunding' for Dubious Cures: What's Your Role?   Millions of dollars are raised through Internet crowdfunding, but the treatments they're chasing may be useless. Who is advising these patients? And what happens to all the money?
  Medscape Business of Medicine, February 2019
• Should We Forgive the Virginia Governor's Youthful Bad Acts?   Remember, everything you've done in the past is discoverable in the Internet age, Art Caplan warns.
  Medscape Business of Medicine, February 2019
• Should All Medical Schools Have Free Tuition?   Art Caplan discusses potential positives and pitfalls of tuition-free medical school with Robert Grossman, dean of NYU Langone Medical School, and Tim Rice, deputy director at the Manhattan Institute.
  Medscape Business of Medicine, January 2019
• So Wrong! Doctors 'Sell' Exemptions for Vaccinations   The ethics of vaccination exemptions: Dr Art Caplan discusses recent changes to laws regarding vaccination policies for children.
  Medscape Business of Medicine, January 2019
• Should Doctors Speak Out About Gun Violence?   The NRA is telling physicians to 'Stay in your lane!' Art Caplan says that's ridiculous.
  Medscape Business of Medicine, December 2018
• Gene-Edited Babies: Breakthrough or 'Morally Irresponsible'?   Ethicist Art Caplan finds the report of human embryonic genetic editing 'hugely immoral' and offensive to basic principles of human experimentation.
  Medscape Business of Medicine, December 2018