Susan Gilbert

Honoring Alex Pretti’s Moral Courage and the Cost of Caring : The Hastings Center for Bioethics The death of Alex Pretti has shaken the nursing profession to the core.

Alex Pretti used his ICU training to help someone in need. He was abiding by the Code of Ethics for Nurses. Read this moving piece by 3 nurses: Connie Ulrich, Mary Naylor, and @maqc.bsky.social

www.thehastingscenter.org/honoring-ale...

When a #pregnant person is declared #braindead, should fetal rights take precedence over those of the patient? ⚖️

New paper in AJOB co-authored by HC Research Scholar Virginia A. Brown and Faith Fletcher, HC Fellow.

📖 https://bit.ly/4r4MBXm

#endoflifecare #healthlaw

Whispered Compassion: Slow Codes, Ritual, and the Moral Limits of Transparency : The Hastings Center for Bioethics Would it ever be acceptable to agree not to withhold CPR, yet when the moment comes, either forgo it altogether or perform it less vigorously than usual?

www.thehastingscenter.org/whispered-co... Doctors and bioethicists agree that deception in medicine is unethical. And yet the practice of faking CPR persists—and may be increasing—in complicated situations. John Lantos explains in Hastings Bioethics Forum.

Bioethics is Not a Luxury in Ukraine : The Hastings Center for Bioethics The question, Do we still need bioethics? sounds almost absurd in Ukraine. I insist: Not only do we need bioethics; it is vital.

A powerful message from a physician/bioethicist who lives and works in Ukraine. The photo shows a drone strike on her hospital. www.thehastingscenter.org/bioethics-is...

More and “Better” Babies: The Dark Side of the Pronatalist Movement : The Hastings Center for Bioethics There is growing concern that falling fertility rates will lead to economic and demographic catastrophe. The social and political movement known as

The reproductive technologies that are being promoted by the tech-elite #pronatalists are new. The push to have as many babies as possible—and the best babies—is not. @daphmarts.bsky.social and @juliaehbrown.bsky.social explain in Hastings Bioethics Forum. www.thehastingscenter.org/more-and-bet...

Hospitals and doctors are ignoring RFK Jr.’s new vaccine schedule and relying on pediatricians’ guidance instead Their decisions underscore a growing divide between federal health authorities and major medical groups.

Hospitals and doctors are ignoring RFK Jr.’s new vaccine schedule and relying on pediatricians’ guidance instead
www.statnews.com/2026/01/15/n...

The Benign Zombies of Pluribus : The Hastings Center for Bioethics Whatever disagreements neuroethicists have, they all presuppose the annoying multiplicity of brains that somehow generate minds. Not so in Vince

www.thehastingscenter.org/the-benign-z... Attention neuroethicists, a TV show for you.

Your Study is Terminated: Researchers Need to Prepare Participants : The Hastings Center for Bioethics At this unprecedented time for medical research, there is an urgent need for protocols to prepare for and communicate the termination of a study to all research stakeholders.

www.thehastingscenter.org/your-study-i... The unprecedented reality of NIH terminating studies creates an urgent need for protocols to communicate with and support research volunteers.

What Research Scandals? Welcome to the Bioethics Memory Hole : The Hastings Center for Bioethics It is striking how many notorious cases of abuses of human research subjects go almost entirely unmentioned in the bioethics literature.

www.thehastingscenter.org/what-researc... you would think that research scandals and abuses would draw bioethicists’ attention, but they don’t. Why? @carlelliott.bsky.social explores this question in Hastings Bioethics Forum.

Schoolchildren Deserve Better : The Hastings Center for Bioethics One of the Trump administration's latest targets is children's mental health services. Recently, Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Health and Human

www.thehastingscenter.org/schoolchildr... With attention focused on misinformation about Tylenol and pregnancy, let’s not lose sight of other “baseless” statements from our leaders that put children’s health at risk.

Most troubling part about removing uncomfortable truths from history is the whitewashing that follows. If you disagree, the answer isn’t to erase them,it’s to challenge them w/ thoughtful counterarguments.🤔

NEW HC Bioethics Forum essay by Barron Lerner https://bit.ly/47EEFFN

🎙️ Episode 4 of Bioethics Chats is OUT NOW!

@varditravitsky.bsky.social chats with Dorothy Roberts, George A. Weiss Professor at UPenn, on the “trifecta of violations of reproductive justice” & what bioethicists & healthcare providers must do to address them. 👩🏾‍⚖️📚

https://bit.ly/45sYBdn

The Price Increases That Should Cause Americans More Alarm - KFF Health News The cost of health insurance is rising faster than the price of eggs or gasoline.

Health insurance premiums for people with employer-provided coverage have more than quadrupled since 1999. From 2023 to 2024 alone, they rose more than 6% for both individuals and family coverage — a steeper increase than that of wages and overall inflation. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

The NIH's longstanding commitment to funding research that uncovers and addresses health disparities has not only advanced our understanding of cancer outcomes across different populations but has also led to improvements that benefit all patients.

Ethical Considerations for First-In-Human Pig Kidney Xenotransplant Clinical Trials : The Hastings Center for Bioethics The first clinical trial transplanting gene-edited pig kidneys into humans could start this year. They raise important ethical issues.

www.thehastingscenter.org/ethical-cons... The first clinical trial involving pig kidney transplants has been approved. There are many ethical issues. Read recommendations on how to address them. New in Hastings Bioethics Forum

AI Can Make You Laugh. But Can It Ever Be Truly Humorous? As people turn to AI for therapy and companionship, some say the models still need to learn the nuances of human humor.

undark.org/2025/07/21/a... Generating some kinds of humor is easier for AI than driving a car safely. Still, much of AI-generated comedy is mediocre. Interesting article by Jyoti Madhusoodanan.

Collecting Migrant Children’s DNA: A Troubling, but Predictable, Trend in the U.S. : The Hastings Center for Bioethics Recent reports reveal that the U.S. government is systematically collecting DNA from migrant children, some as young as 4 years old, and storing it

www.thehastingscenter.org/collecting-m... The latest expansion in the use of DNA samples for law enforcement raises ethical and legal concerns. James Hazel explains.

Sweet Vindication for Stem Cell Research, and American Science : The Hastings Center for Bioethics A small group of people with a severe form of type 1 diabetes have been successfully treated with pancreatic cells derived from human embryonic stem cells. This moment should not pass without recognit...

Can we be sure that the research that is to this achievement would be possible now? Jonathan Moreno’s latest in Hastings Bioethics Forum www.thehastingscenter.org/sweet-vindic...

A Clinical Ethicist Reflects on the Life and Death of a Beloved Pet : The Hastings Center for Bioethics In my role as a clinical ethicist, I regularly explore the risks and benefits of proposed treatments, especially for terminal diseases. But for Sheba this moral question felt unique.

Beautiful piece. Read with a box of tissues. www.thehastingscenter.org/a-clinical-e...

More needs to be made of the distinction between trust and trustworthiness. Lower levels of trust in vaccines and ACIP are more likely a function of attempts to actively undermine trust from the likes of RFK Jr and company, not the trustworthiness of ACIP.

Civil Death: Unethical in 1933 and Today : The Hastings Center for Bioethics The rhyme of history is disturbing, especially when played out by the professionals whom we rely on for ethical leadership, not for unethical manipulation of the law.

www.thehastingscenter.org/civil-death-... Making comparisons with the Nazis and their rise to autocracy is tricky, but we must learn from history.

🚨 Hastings in the spotlight! 🚨

HC President Vardit Ravitsky featured on 60 Minutes, where she discusses the growing trend of #eggfreezing and the opportunities and risks it raises about pausing the biological clock. 🧬⏳

Watch: cbsn.ws/3Z1owoI

#Bioethics

To Make America Healthy Again, Stop Divesting from Science Proposed cuts to federal research funding and attacks on universities imperil the longstanding global leadership of the United States in scientific and medical discoveries and raise profound bioethica...

Latest in Hastings Bioethics Forum by RobertKlitzman.bsky.social www.thehastingscenter.org/to-make-amer...

Bioethics: Back to the USSR? Will bioethics continue to exist and in what form? In the United States, where the discipline is most developed and institutionalized, it is under pressure.

Will bioethics continue to exist and in what form? It’s under pressure in the US. www.thehastingscenter.org/bioethics-ba...

De-extinction is Here. Now What? Colossal Biosciences, a biotechnology company, announced that it has achieved a scientific first -- bringing back an extinct animal: the dire wolf. Crucial questions emerge about scientific hubris, pl...

Bringing back extinct Animals: my essay via @hastingscenter.bsky.social www.thehastingscenter.org/de-extinctio...

This is a terrific essay, from the heart and mind.

What 23andMe Owes its Users With concern about its stability, 23andMe should consider what information and protection it owes its users. So should other DTC genetic testing companies.

Now that 23andme has filed for bankruptcy, here’s what to know about protecting your data. www.thehastingscenter.org/what-23andme...

Prescription drug prices have skyrocketed in the U.S., more so than in other wealthy countries! 💊 💰 What prices can be ethically justified? 💭 New chapter in our Bioethics Briefings. READ, bit.ly/41Xyt7i

#HastingsCenter #Bioethics #DrugPricing #Healthcare

Heavy Metal Bioethics I had never thought much about Alzheimer’s disease, other than to hope that I never suffer from it. But after attending a heavy metal concert, that condition began to weigh on my heart and mind. The s...

www.thehastingscenter.org/heavy-metal-... Can listening to heavy metal, or any music, make bioethicists better at what they do? This bioethicist-drummer thinks so.

Terri Schiavo’s Legacy Many think that the decision 20 years ago to permit Terri Schiavo to die was a victory for medical choice. On the contrary, her death triggered a series of events that have corroded individual control...

www.thehastingscenter.org/terri-schiav...
The Schiavo case became a battlefield in the larger culture war playing out to this day. @artcap.bsky.social dominicsisti.bsky.social