letter a key with glowing cartoon blue cloud over it

Hastings Bioethics Forum

An online publication of topical bioethics commentary

Hastings Bioethics Forum publishes commentaries on topical issues in bioethics.
Susan Gilbert, Editor. For questions about contributing, contact gilberts@thehastingscenter.org.

Essays are the opinions of the authors, not of The Hastings Center.

Bioethics Forum Essay
Clinical Case Studies card

Should Life-Saving Medicine Be Continued for an Unhoused Patient with an Addiction?

Ms. B is a 45-year-old African American woman who lives in a shelter. She also has a heroin addiction and has end-stage heart failure. She was admitted to the hospital...
Read Should Life-Saving Medicine Be Continued for an Unhoused Patient with an Addiction?
Bioethics Forum Essay
person on gurney pushed by medical staff down a dark hall

Death and the Collapse of our Metaphorical Truths

After witnessing the first death of a patient, a medical student searches for meaning.
Read Death and the Collapse of our Metaphorical Truths
Bioethics Forum Essay
black and whilte photo of white man in suit

Jimmy Carter’s Defeat and the Seeds of Hope

I last saw Jimmy Carter in person on November 4, 1980. The future would unfold in ways that brought bioethics into both of our lives.
Read Jimmy Carter’s Defeat and the Seeds of Hope
Bioethics Forum Essay
stained glass image of jesus

What Does AI Jesus Teach Us?

AI Jesus is just one of many recent examples in which artificial intelligence systems have taken on roles that have always seemed to require human beings. One can worry what these creations will eventually do to us humans. What will be left for humans to do?
Read What Does AI Jesus Teach Us?
Bioethics Forum Essay
man sitting on bed, woman with ipad

Ethical Considerations for Using AI to Predict Suicide Risk

Predicting a patient's suicide risk is hard. Can AI do better than a clinician?
Read Ethical Considerations for Using AI to Predict Suicide Risk
Bioethics Forum Essay
orange wildfire on a hill

Now What? Bioethics and Mitigating Climate Disasters

For those committed to realistic responses to our current climate crisis, the results of the presidential election are a major step backward. Announcements of cabinet choices for the second Trump...
Read Now What? Bioethics and Mitigating Climate Disasters
Bioethics Forum Essay
black and white photo of older white man

Benjamin Cardozo on Medicine and the Law: Wisdom for Senate Confirmation Hearings

Beyond policy disagreements or concerns about qualifications, there was something more foundational that bothered me about the nominees for the Departments of Justice and of Health and Human Services.
Read Benjamin Cardozo on Medicine and the Law: Wisdom for Senate Confirmation Hearings
Bioethics Forum Essay
plastic medical equipment

What 23andMe Owes its Users

With concern about its stability, 23andMe should consider what information and protection it owes its users. So should other DTC genetic testing companies.
Read What 23andMe Owes its Users
Bioethics Forum Essay
elderly person walking with help

After the Election, Our Aging Society Will Still Need Care Policy

After the election, the care needs of our aging society will continue to be met by families showing up, day after day. Whether or not our public officials decide to imagine otherwise and commit themselves to policy changes that could prove highly popular, bioethics needs to keep its eyes on the caregivers.
Read After the Election, Our Aging Society Will Still Need Care Policy
Bioethics Forum Essay
houses flooded in hurricane

Do Your Part to Address Climate Change: Vote

How we can help reduce emissions at the scale needed to avert the worst of climate change? Vote for leaders who value emissions reduction and carbon neutrality and vote against those who discount, greenwash, or oppose it.
Read Do Your Part to Address Climate Change: Vote
Bioethics Forum Essay
gavel, stethoscope on american flag

The Reactionary Recommendations of Project 2025: Why Bioethicists Should Care

Given its concern with making health and health care more equitable and just, bioethics should pay attention to the Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, best known as Project 2025....
Read The Reactionary Recommendations of Project 2025: Why Bioethicists Should Care
Bioethics Forum Essay
Department of Health and Human services building

When Bioethics is Like Surfing: Changing Federal Policy

I was honored (and honestly a bit surprised) to play a pivotal role in a recent federal milestone for patients’ rights. On April 1, the Department of Health and Human...
Read When Bioethics is Like Surfing: Changing Federal Policy

Bioethics Forum Archive

Hastings Bioethics Forum essays are the opinions of the authors, not of The Hastings Center.

How to reprint/repost: Hastings Bioethics Forum posts can be republished for free. We use a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives license.

How to contribute: For questions about contributing to Hastings Bioethics Forum or to submit a commentary, please contact Susan Gilbert, editor, gilberts@thehastingscenter.org.