Bioethics Forum Essay
Chimpanzees: Persons or Things?
Last month, a group of 17 North American philosophers (myself included) filed an amicus curiae brief with the New York State Court of Appeals on behalf of Kiko and Tommy,...Bioethics Forum Essay
Might Chimpanzees Have Legal Rights?
On May 8, the New York Court of Appeals denied an appeal to have two captive chimpanzees, Kiko and Tommy, recognized as legal persons with the right to bodily liberty...Hastings Center News
New Project: Could Human Cells “Humanize” Research Animals?
And what does “humanize” even mean? Those are among the questions being explored in a new Hastings Center project, funded by the National Institutes of Health, on the ethical oversight...Read “New Project: Could Human Cells “Humanize” Research Animals?”
Hastings Center News
Is it Ethical to Genetically Edit Sports Animals?
Breeders have worked for centuries to produce animals, such as greyhounds or racehorses, with traits for peak sport performance. Today, gene editing technologies such as CRISPR could accomplish in one...Bioethics Forum Essay
Not-So-Golden Years for NIH’s Retired Chimpanzees
The National Institutes of Health recently announced that it will retire-in-place the remaining 44 chimpanzees at the Alamogordo Primate Facility in Alamogordo, New Mexico, rather than transfer them to a sanctuary as originally planned. NIH’s decision is disappointing for those who believe that the chimpanzees—many of whom have spent decades in research—should experience the freedom and quality of life a sanctuary would provide.Bioethics Forum Essay
What Is Ethical Eating in the Age of Climate Change?
Are we ethically obliged to eat less meat? Bioethicists consider that question, and their role in addressing it.Hastings Center News
Special Report Calls for Improved Oversight On “Chimeric” Human-Animal Research
A new report on the ethics of crossing species boundaries by inserting human cells into (nonhuman) animals for research purposes–research surrounded by debate–makes recommendations clarifying the ethical issues and calling...Read “Special Report Calls for Improved Oversight On “Chimeric” Human-Animal Research”
Page
Project to Examine “Deliberate Extinction” of Species
October 4, 2023 – A new project at The Hastings Center will propose recommendations for deciding if especially dangerous species should be eradicated with gene editing technology. Candidate species could...Read “Project to Examine “Deliberate Extinction” of Species”
Bioethics Forum Essay
Involuntary Donation: Animal Welfare and Xenotransplantation
The realized promise of xenotransplantation seems to be quickly approaching, following the medical breakthrough of a pig kidney functioning for a record two months in a deceased human body. This milestone has received overwhelmingly positive media attention. Ethicists, physicians, and transplantation specialists have shared their apprehensions about the risks of implanting animal-grown organs into humans. However, conspicuously absent from these discussions is a major stakeholder: the animals.Read “Involuntary Donation: Animal Welfare and Xenotransplantation”