All news item
By Kaitlyn Schaeffer Brittany Maynard, a twenty nine-year-old woman diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, opted to end her life last year; in doing so, she became the new face of the assisted suicide movement. Following her diagnosis, Maynard and her husband moved from California to Oregon so that she would be able to take advantage [...]
By Kaitlyn Schaeffer Surgeons in South Africa announced this month that a 21-year-old penis transplant recipient had achieved full urinary and reproductive functionality. The surgery was performed in December 2014; doctors had anticipated that it would take two years for the patient to achieve this level of functionality. Professor Frank Graewe, a member of the [...]
By Richard Balagtas On Tuesday, March 10th, France’s parliament began debating a bill that would allow “doctors to keep terminally ill patients sedated until death comes.” This bill was introduced amidst a heated national debate concerning the legalization of euthanasia. The bill itself avoids the use of terms such as euthanasia, assisted suicide, and lethal [...]
By Dr. Charles Debrovner Most people spend much of their adult lives trying not to have children. During the past fifty years, the ability to make reproductive decisions has expanded significantly to include a wide variety of family planning options. However, when we do want to have children, and conceiving or carrying a pregnancy proves [...]
By Kaitlyn Schaeffer Last August, Thailand gave preliminary approval to a draft law that would make commercial surrogacy a crime; parliament voted 160 to 2 to pass the measure on February 19. The law bans foreigners from seeking surrogacy services in Thailand, a country that has long been a popular destination for first-world couples seeking [...]
By Kaitlyn Schaeffer The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection is very common; the Center for Disease Control estimates that nearly all sexually active males and females will contract it at some point in their lifetimes. HPV can cause sexually transmitted diseases such as genital warts, and cervical, vulvar, and vaginal cancers. In 2011, more than 12,000 [...]
By Caroline Song Lawmakers in Vermont recently filed a bill for presumed consent to organ donation. H. 57 states that “[a]ll Vermont residents 18 years of age or older shall be presumed to consent to making an anatomical gift of some or all of their organs, eyes, tissues, or a combination thereof upon their death [...]
By Caroline Song Italian surgeon Sergio Canavero claims that he will be able to perform a human head transplant as soon as 2017. Two major hurdles to such a surgery still exist: an inability to successfully fuse together disparate spinal cords and the body’s sometimes negative immunological response to transplanted organs. Canavero believes that these [...]
By Richard Balagtas Many couples struggle with conception. Fortunately, advancements in medical technologies have produced alternative methods for conceiving children, including in-vitro fertilization and surrogacy. These options are often stressful for the individuals who undergo them; one can only imagine the nightmare some families went through when they discovered they’d been swindled. “Forty families, desperate for [...]
By Kaitlyn Schaeffer After receiving a diagnosis of terminal brain cancer, Brittany Maynard moved to Oregon, a state that has a “Death With Dignity” law. She passed away in November of last year, surrounded by family and friends. Her story has inspired two New York state lawmakers to introduce a “death with dignity” bill that [...]
