The Hastings Center

In addition to its devastating effects on health and mortality, the COVID-19 pandemic produced a complex and interconnected set of social challenges across the US. Older adults living in the community faced social isolation and disruptions in access to food, medical care, and other goods and services during stay-at-home orders. In response, organizations that support...

The first Google Health Bioethics Summit 2022 will be hosted in collaboration with The Hastings Center.  This forum will bring together experts from across academia and industry to explore the most pressing ethical issues in artificial intelligence and health care, share knowledge, and build the foundation for the development of standards, policies, and best practices....

In the Covid moment, community-based initiatives throughout the United States pivoted to meet the needs of older adults at home. This virtual event explores the findings of a new report, a collaboration between The Hastings Center and the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard, focusing on perspectives and lessons from diverse initiatives and networks...

The chaos that enveloped the Covid-19 response and the loss of trust in experts has laid bare the need for a shift in communicating the moral questions that confront our society. Helping the public think through daunting public health issues and understand the reasons for life and death policies is critical – we must communicate...

The Dobbs decision is imposing confusion and risking the health and safety of pregnant patients in states where abortion has been banned. Physicians are asking what to do.  Is the ethical choice refusing to comply?  Or is civil disobedience the wrong answer? Learn about the kinds of patient cases most at risk and explore what...

This event, the third in a four-part series, will explore some of the key findings in Advancing Housing and Health Equity for Older Adults: Pandemic Innovations and Policy Ideas, a collaboration with The Hastings Center. Panelists will share new research and examples of how service coordinators leveraged community resources and their own creativity to ensure...

Most older Americans want to “age in place,” yet many lack the “place” they need. Land use restrictions or local resistance to affordable, accessible homes stymie efforts to build places that work for people as they age or who have disabilities. Private-market options geared to wealthy adults are not the solution for the typical, moderate-income...

What is the essence of sports, and how does that impact the way doping is defined? Join the Friday ELSI discussion with panelists Sarah Polcz, JSD, MSc, JD (Stanford Law School) and Silvia Camporesi, PhD, PhD (King's College London, University of Vienna), moderated by Thomas H. Murray, PhD (The Hastings Center).

Social and behavioral genomics research uses huge sets of genetic data in attempts to shed light on phenotypes from smoking and eating behaviors, to psychiatric disorders, to sexuality and educational attainment. How should we think about the risks of such research, including the risks that its results can be weaponized or lead to policy fatalism?...

While many promise that the study of genomic variants can help us better understand ourselves and our world, others are concerned that recent scientific developments have helped fuel the rise of harmful ideologies, such as white supremacy and antisemitism. The scientific community must consider whether the misappropriation of genetic evidence has played any role in...