Bert Gordijn

This contribution focuses on two claims advanced by the proponents of the project of “Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance.” Firstly, it is maintained that this project represents something genuinely new and quite unique. Secondly, it is argued that the future prospects of the project are extraordinarily positive. In order to critically assess both claims this paper first focuses on the question of whether there is actually anything genuinely new about the project of improving human performance by means of converging NBIC technologies. In addition it is analyzed whether the project warrants that we be optimistic about its future prospects

Studies in Ethics, Law and Technology differs from similar journals in the field in the following way: it is broader both in terms of focusing on a wide range of technologies as well as giving equal attention to ethical and regulatory questions. Besides, being an electronic medium, SELT has no limited word count, which characterizes hard copy journals. Finally, SELT seems to invite more pioneering and imaginative work. These points are being well demonstrated by this third issue of SELT's second volume

Solidarity belongs to the basic principles of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) and is part of the ethical repertoire of European moral traditions and European healthcare systems. This paper discusses how leaders of Catholic healthcare organizations (HCOs) can understand their institutional moral responsibility with regard to the preservation of solidarity. In dealing with this question, we make use of Taylor's philosophy of modern culture. We first argue that, just as all HCOs, Catholic ones also can embody and strengthen solidarity by just doing their quintessential job, that is, to care for people with ill health. Second, we focus on the Catholic identity of these organizations and argue that this characteristic can empower a radical commitment to solidarity. Finally, we argue that CST provides a critical ethical framework for approaching solidarity from the perspective of the common good

Croatia is a transitional society in that it is a country emerging from a socialist command economy toward a market-based economy with ensuing structural changes of a social and political nature—some extending into the healthcare system. A legacy from our past is that, until now, Croatian healthcare institutions have had no real experience with clinical ethics support services. When clinical cases arise presenting complex ethical dilemmas in treatment options, the challenges presented to the medical team are substantial. The case described below recently occurred on a ward in a university hospital in Croatia. An unexpected request from the patient’s parents created a number of issues that needed to be addressed by the medical team, which was made more difficult by the lack of clinical ethics support services. Such cases press the question currently being debated as to what type of ethics support services would be suitable for Croatia and why.

Dutch euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide stand on the eve of important legal changes. In the summer of 1999, a new government bill concerning euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide was sent to Parliament for discussion. This bill legally embodies a ground for exemption from punishment for physicians who conduct euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide and comply with certain requirements. On November 28, 2000, the Dutch parliament approved an adapted version of this bill. Since the approval by the Dutch Senate can be regarded as a formality, it is expected that the bill will come into force in the course of this year (2001). In this paper we discuss these new developments.

The objective of this article is to analyse and compare four methods of ethical case deliberation. These include Clinical Pragmatism, The Nijmegen Method of ethical case deliberation, Hermeneutic dialogue, and Socratic dialogue. The origin of each method will be briefly sketched. Furthermore, the methods as well as the related protocols will be presented. Each method will then be evaluated against the background of those situations in which it is being used. The article aims to show that there is not one ideal method of ethical case deliberation, which fits to all possible kinds of moral problems. Rather, as each of the methods highlights a limited number of morally relevant aspects, each method has its strengths and weaknesses as well. These strengths and weaknesses should be evaluated in relation to different types of situations, for instance moral problems in treatment decisions, moral uneasiness and residue, and the like. The suggestion arrived at on the basis of the findings of this paper is a reasonable methodological plurality. This means that a method can be chosen depending on the type of moral problem to be deliberated upon. At the same time it means, that by means of a method, deliberation should be facilitated

In genomic research the ideal standard of free, informed, prior, and explicit consent is believed to restrict important research studies. For certain types of genomic research other forms of consent are therefore proposed which are ethically justified by an appeal to the common good. This notion is often used in a general sense and this forms a weak basis for the use of weaker forms of consent. Here we examine how the notion of the common good can be related to individual health, health care, and genomic research and we use this analysis to propose more precise criteria to justify forms of consent which diverge from the ideal standard.

Definition of the problem: Cord blood banks have been and are still being set up in many modern states all over the world. Cord blood transplantation, however, gives rise to a specific set of ethical problems, that must be cleared up and analyzed before full responsibility can be assumed and the establishment of banks for frozen cord blood samples and the structural implementation of cord blood transplantation can be justified. The main ethical issues concerning cord blood stem cell transplantation can be divided into at least six groups of questions that are closely related. First, there are ethical issues concerning the status of the treatment. Must cord blood transplantation somehow still be considered an „investigational” treatment or can it be regarded as accepted therapy? Second, we must face the question of the ownership of the placental tissue. Third, there are questions regarding the fairness in the collection and distribution of cord blood. Fourth, there is the issue of informed consent. Fifth, there is the question of whether how new data from medical testing will be communicated to the parents or the donor. Finally, questions related to privacy and confidentiality need to be addressed. Conclusion: As it is likely in the years to come that the supply and demand for cord blood will grow, clinicians will increasingly need answers to these ethical questions. Only thoughtful analysis of the attendant ethical issues of the establishment of banks for frozen blood samples and the structural implementation of cord blood transplantation can mitigate potential problems