Bioethics Forum EssaySex, Consent, and DementiaA 78-year‐old Iowa man, Henry Rayhons, has been charged with third‐degree felony sexual abuse for having sex with his wife, who had severe Alzheimer’s, in her nursing home on May 23,...Read Sex, Consent, and DementiaBioethics Forum EssayDying: Closing the Gap between What We Know and What We DoTime is running out on fixing the way we die. As readers of this blog know, the courts first declared a right to refuse unwanted life-sustaining treatment in the 1976 Quinlan case....Read Dying: Closing the Gap between What We Know and What We DoBioethics Forum EssayControlling the End Game of DementiaIn her New York Times article of January 20, “Complexities of Choosing an End Game for Dementia”, Paula Span reviewed the use of advance directives to withhold food and water as a way...Read Controlling the End Game of DementiaBioethics Forum EssayHow Brittany Maynard Changed the Conversation about Aid in DyingBrittany Maynard, the courageous 29-year-old woman with terminal brain cancer, ended her life a month ago today. She and her husband had moved to Oregon so that Maynard could take advantage...Read How Brittany Maynard Changed the Conversation about Aid in DyingBioethics Forum EssayMore French ParadoxesDeath is hard to deal with anywhere, but France has some contradictory ways of providing end-of-life care, as two recent articles discuss. On the lighter side, Agence France-Presse reports on...Read More French ParadoxesBioethics Forum EssayAlzheimer’s Disease, Biomarkers, and Suicide: Why We Need to Think About All Three TogetherRecently, I spoke with a seasoned health care reporter who was interested in Alzheimer’s and biomarkers because of his own family’s history of this disease. He started by asking, “Why...Read Alzheimer’s Disease, Biomarkers, and Suicide: Why We Need to Think About All Three TogetherBioethics Forum EssayA Blood Test to Predict Alzheimer’s Disease: What’s the Elephant in the Room?I recently gave a talk about Alzheimer’s disease and asked people to imagine two individuals, Manny and Sue. Manny died at 85; he was showing signs of age but living...Read A Blood Test to Predict Alzheimer’s Disease: What’s the Elephant in the Room?Bioethics Forum EssayBioethics and the Dogma of “Brain Death”Two cases involving “brain death” have received considerable public attention, including commentary by several well-known bioethicists. In commenting on these cases the bioethicists have stated, in no uncertain terms, that...Read Bioethics and the Dogma of “Brain Death”Bioethics Forum EssayAn ICU Nurse Discusses Brain DeathBrain death is an immensely challenging concept to grasp, even for health care providers. The patients look like any other patient in the intensive care unit; they have vital signs,...Read An ICU Nurse Discusses Brain DeathBioethics Forum EssayU.K.’s Landmark Case on Withholding Treatment Affirms the Importance of Patients’ ValuesFamily Lose Right-to-Life Case at U.K.’s Highest Court.” “Judges ‘Right’ to Allow Man to Die.” “Widow Loses ‘Withdrawn Treatment’ Case.” These were the headlines on a recent Supreme Court decision...Read U.K.’s Landmark Case on Withholding Treatment Affirms the Importance of Patients’ Values