The Hastings Center Report

January - February 2012

Vol. 42, No. 1

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Human Rights

Health Workers as Pawns of Warfare

Susanna Smith, 02/03/2012
Last week, NPR reported a major humanitarian group’s decision to stop treating patients from detention centers in Misrata, Libya. According to the report, “tor...
Health Policy

Obama's Unspoken Words About Health Reform and Values

Ross White, 01/26/2012
Many in the health policy world worried when President Obama made only passing reference to health care in his State of the Union Address -- only two mentions ...
Health Care

“Beware the Ides of March” 2.0

Carol Levine, 01/18/2012
The ancients looked to omens and portents to recognize signs of impending death. Today we do not rely on the ominous words of soothsayers, interpreting the ent...
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What is Bioethics Forum?
Bioethics Forum, the blog of the Hastings Center Report, publishes thoughtful commentary from a range of perspectives on timely issues in bioethics. The opinions expressed in it are those of the authors and not The Hastings Center.
On The Web

Working the Assembly Line at the Human Experimentation Factory
Carl Elliot, The Chronicle of Higher Education
"These days, if universities want to compete for clinical trials, they have do it on terms set by market forces." 

Sword and Shield: The Dual Uses of Pathogen Research
William Hoffman, Science Progress
"Because the human immune system is our most vital biodefense shield, technology that mimics its function and discloses its vulnerabilities also ratchets up the dual-use dilemma. As we know, technology rarely stays safely at home."

Drug Companies Reduce Payments to Doctors as Scrutiny Mounts
Tracy Weber and Charles Ornstein, ProPublica
"Some of the nation's top medical schools cracked down on professors who give paid promotional talks for drugmakers last year, and the firms themselves cut back on such spending in the wake of mounting scrutiny."

An MS Patient Loses Trust When She Finds Out Her Doctor Is Paid By Drug Companies
Maran Wolston, Health Affairs
"Having MS is difficult enough. The last thing I needed was to worry about whether my neurologist was acting in the best interest of the drug companies or in the best interest of me, his patient."

Why Selling Kidneys Should Be Legal
Alexander Berger, The New York Times
"People should not have to beg their friends and family for a kidney, nor die while waiting for one. Donating a kidney is one way to help. But it isn’t enough."