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67Obligatory precautions against infectionBioethics 19 (4). 2005.ABSTRACT If we have a duty not to infect others, how far does it go? This question is often discussed with respect to HIV transmission, but reflection on other diseases like influenza raises a number of interesting theoretical issues. I argue that a duty to avoid infection not only yields requirements for persons who know they carry a disease, but also for persons who know they are at increased risk, and even for those who definitely know they are completely healthy. Given the numerous ways in w…Read more
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46Health inequities in times of a pandemicPublic Health Ethics 2 (3): 207-209. 2009.(No abstract is available for this citation)
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9Futility without a dichotomy: Towards an ideal physician–patient relationshipBioethics 17 (1). 2003.The futility debate may be considered as an effort to provide a clear and justified borderline between physician and patient decision–making authority. In this paper we argue that the search for a definition of futility that provides physicians with a final argument in discussions about life–prolonging treatment, is misplaced. An acceptable and meaningful criterion of futility that satisfies this effort seems impossible. As a consequence, we reject a dichotomous domain of decision–making power a…Read more
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35Ethics in Public Health: Bloomberg's Battle and BeyondPublic Health Ethics 6 (3): 231-232. 2013.
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65Ethics, Prevention, and Public Health (edited book)Oxford University Press. 2009.In these twelve papers notable ethicists use the resources of ethical theory to illuminate important theoretical and practical topics, including the nature of public health, notions of community, population bioethics, the legitimate role of law, the use of cost-effectiveness as a methodology, vaccinations, and the nature of infectious disease.
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52BACKGROUND: The availability of costly safety measures against transfusion-transmissible infections forces Western countries to confront difficult ethical questions. How to decide about implementing such measures? When are such decisions justified? As a preliminary to addressing these questions, we assessed which concerns shape actual donor blood safety policymaking in five Western countries. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Our qualitative study involved determining which issues had been discussed in …Read more
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71Moral assessment of growth hormone therapy for children with idiopathic short statureJournal of Medical Ethics 23 (5): 305-309. 1997.The prescription of growth hormone therapy for children who are not growth hormone deficient is one of the controversies in contemporary paediatric endocrinology. Is it morally appropriate to enhance the growth, by means of medical treatment, of a child wish idiopathic short stature? The medical, moral, and philosophical questions in this area are many. Data on the effects of human growth hormone (hGH) treatment will not on their own provide us with answers, as these effects have to be evaluated…Read more
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17The Meaning of 'Public' in 'Public Health'In Angus Dawson & Marcel Verweij (eds.), Ethics, Prevention, and Public Health, Clarendon Press. 2007.
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30Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: Offence, Harm and the Good LifePublic Health Ethics 3 (2): 89-90. 2010.
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21Professional Solidarity: The Case of Influenza ImmunizationAmerican Journal of Bioethics 13 (9): 51-52. 2013.No abstract
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79Public Health and Legitimacy: Or Why There is Still a Place for Substantive Work in EthicsPublic Health Ethics 7 (2): 95-97. 2014.
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38Public health dilemmas concerning a 2-year old hepatitis-b carrier – responseJournal of Bioethical Inquiry 5 (1): 87--89. 2008.
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1565How (Not) to Argue for the Rule of Rescue. Claims of Individuals versus Group SolidarityIn Gohen Glen, Daniels Norman & Eyal Nir (eds.), Identified versus Statistical Victims. An Interdisciplinary Perspective., Oxford University Press. pp. 137-149. 2015.The rule of rescue holds that special weight should be given to protecting the lives of assignable individuals in need, implying that less weight is given to considerations of cost-effectiveness. This is sometimes invoked as an argument for funding or reimbursing life-saving treatment in public healthcare even if the costs of such treatment are extreme. At first sight one might assume that an individualist approach to ethics—such as Scanlon’s contractualism—would offer a promising route to justi…Read more
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24You eat what you are: Moral dimensions of diets tailored to one's genesJournal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 16 (6): 557-568. 2003.Thanks to developments in genomics,dietary recommendations adapted to genetic riskprofiles of individual persons are no longerscience fiction. But what are the consequencesof these diets? An examination of possibleimpacts of genetically tailor-made diets raisesmorally relevant concerns that are analogous to(medical-ethical) considerations aboutscreening and testing. These concerns oftengive rise to applying norms for informedconsent and for the weighing of burdens andbenefits. These diets also h…Read more
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252Ethical Promises and Pitfalls of OneHealthPublic Health Ethics 9 (1): 1-4. 2016.Emerging infectious diseases such as Ebola, Hendra, SARS, West Nile, Hepatitis E and avian influenza have led to a renewed recognition of how diseases in human beings, wildlife and livestock are interlinked. The changing prevalence and spread of such infections are largely determined by human activities and changes in environment and climate—where the latter are often also caused by human activities. Since the beginning of the 21st century, these insights have been brought together under the hea…Read more
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18Interpreting and Applying the Precautionary Principle: A Response to Open Peer Commentaries on “The Precautionary Principle and the Tolerability of Blood Transfusion Risks”American Journal of Bioethics 17 (4): 4-6. 2017.
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25Shutting Up Infected Houses: Infectious Disease Control, Past and PresentPublic Health Ethics 3 (1): 1-3. 2010.(No abstract is available for this citation)
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167Moral principles for allocating scarce medical resources in an influenza pandemicJournal of Bioethical Inquiry 6 (2): 159--169. 2009.One of the societal problems in a new influenza pandemic will be how to use the scarce medical resources that are available for prevention and treatment, and what medical, epidemiological and ethical justifications can be given for the choices that have to be made. Many things may become scarce: personal protective equipment, antiviral drugs, hospital beds, mechanical ventilation, vaccination, etc. In this paper I discuss two general ethical principles for priority setting (utility and equity) a…Read more
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27Do's and dont's for ethics committees: Practical lessons learned in the netherlands (review)HEC Forum 12 (4): 344-357. 2000.
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33Vaccination PoliciesIn Hugh LaFollette (ed.), The International Encyclopedia of Ethics, Blackwell. 2013.Vaccination involves priming the immune system with an antigenic agent that mimics a virus or bacterium, which results in immunity against the “real” microorganism. Collective vaccination policies have played an important role in the control of infectious disease worldwide. They can serve the utilitarian aim to protect public health – hence welfare – and also promote fairness: making essential vaccines accessible to all members of the public. Yet as more and more vaccines are developed, societie…Read more
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946Curiosity and Responsibility. Philosophy in relation to healthy food and living conditionsWageningen University. 2014.The curious philosopher often answers questions by raising further, more fundamental questions. How can this be fruitful and practical in the context of Wageningen University? Philosophy offers critical reflection on conceptual and normative assumptions in science and society, and that is necessary for responsible practices. I illustrate this by analyzing the concept of quality of life – a key value in the mission of our university – and by questioning current debates about responsibility for he…Read more
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32Personal Health Monitoring and Human InteractionAmerican Journal of Bioethics 12 (9): 47-48. 2012.The American Journal of Bioethics, Volume 12, Issue 9, Page 47-48, September 2012
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23Individual and Collective Considerations in Public Health: Influenza Vaccination in Nursing HomesBioethics 15 (5-6): 536-546. 2001.Many nursing homes have an influenza vaccination policy in which it is assumed that express (proxy) consent is not necessary. Tacit consent procedures are more efficient if one aims at high vaccination rates. In this paper I focus on incompetent residents and proxy consent. Tacit proxy consent for vaccination implies a deviance of standard proxy consent requirements. I analyse several arguments that may possibly support such a deviance. The primary reason to offer influenza vaccination is that v…Read more
Areas of Specialization
Applied Ethics |
Normative Ethics |
Areas of Interest
Applied Ethics |
Normative Ethics |