An essay in Oregon Humanities about the new International Symbol of Access discusses Hastings Center senior research scholar Erik Parens’s idea of “binocularity” in thinking about technology and human flourishing. The idea stems from his book, Shaping Our Selves: On Technology, Flourishing, and a Habit of Thinking. Image credit: Nico Flosseta and Fort Wick

Hastings Center scholar Nancy Berlinger told the PBS NewsHour that conscience objections by health care providers, which were expanded under regulations finalized in early May by the Department of Health and Human Services, can lead to certain medical procedures becoming stigmatized, leading to worse treatment or deterring patients from seeking treatment at all. 

Getting the facts about vaccines right is not the most important part of the effort to sway the minds of those unconvinced, write Hastings Center research scholars Gregory E. Kaebnick and Michael Gusmano in Slate.   Convincing people to vaccinate their children requires engaging with them about their values.

A Washington Post article on the ethics of the recent ruling on testosterone levels in women’s sports quotes Hastings Center President Emeritus Thomas Murray and cites his book: “Good Sport: Why Our Games Matter — And How Doping Undermines Them.”  Says Murray about the case: “You’re balancing considerations that just don’t afford an easy solution.””

Selecting embryos based on their potential to have high IQ is likely within reach–and doing so is irreconcilable with the duties of being a good parent, write Hastings senior research scholar Erik Parens, Hastings Center fellow Paul Appelbaum, and Wendy Chung in Stat.