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48Crocodile tiersJournal of Medical Ethics 34 (8): 575. 2008.It is clearly unethical for the NHS to tell people that they will die sooner unless they pay for private treatment, and then to tell them that if they pay for private treatment they will have to pay the NHS for its insufficient service. This is all the more true if people in other parts of the country are receiving all the drugs they need for the same condition on the NHS. Patients who discover that the NHS care that they have paid for will not keep them alive should be able to supplement their …Read more
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48Creating human organs in chimaera pigs: an ethical source of immunocompatible organs?Journal of Medical Ethics 41 (12): 970-974. 2015.
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37Conducting Ethics Research in Prison: Why, Who, and What?Journal of Bioethical Inquiry 11 (3): 275-278. 2014.Why devote an issue of an ethics journal to prison medicine? Why conduct ethics research in prisons in the first place? In this editorial, we explain why prison ethics research is vitally important and illustrate our argument by introducing and briefly discussing the fascinating papers in this special issue of the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry.Ethics is often regarded as a theoretical discipline. This is in large part due to ethics’ origin as a type of moral philosophy, which is frequently assoc…Read more
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11COVID-19 conscience tracing: mapping the moral distances of coronavirusJournal of Medical Ethics 48 (8): 530-533. 2022.One of the many problems posed by the collective effort to tackle COVID-19 is non-compliance with restrictions. Some people would like to obey restrictions but cannot due to their job or other life circumstances; others are not good at following rules that restrict their liberty, even if the potential consequences of doing so are repeatedly made very clear to them. Among this group are a minority who simply do not care about the consequences of their actions. But many others fail to accurately p…Read more
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27Automated vehicles, big data and public healthMedicine, Health Care and Philosophy 23 (1): 35-42. 2020.In this paper we focus on how automated vehicles can reduce the number of deaths and injuries in accident situations in order to protect public health. This is actually a problem not only of public health and ethics, but also of big data—not only in terms of all the different data that could be used to inform such decisions, but also in the sense of deciding how wide the scope of data should be. We identify three key different types of data, including basic data, advanced data and preference dat…Read more
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31A Virtuous Death: Organ Donation and EudaimoniaJournal of Bioethical Inquiry 14 (3): 319-321. 2017.
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36A Strong Remedy to a Weak Ethical Defence of HomeopathyJournal of Bioethical Inquiry 12 (4): 549-553. 2015.In this article, I indicate and illustrate several flaws in a recent “ethical defence” of homeopathy. It transpires that the authors’ arguments have several features in common with homeopathic remedies, including strong claims, a lack of logic or evidence, and no actual effect
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3A Response to Penders: The Disvalue of Vagueness in AuthorshipJournal of Bioethical Inquiry 14 (1): 17-17. 2017.
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94An Extra Reason to Roll the Dice: Balancing Harm, Benefit and Autonomy in 'Futile' CasesClinical Ethics 5 (4): 219. 2010.Oncologists frequently have to break bad news to patients. Although they are not normally the ones who tell patients that they have cancer, they are the ones who have to tell patients that treatment is not working, and they are almost always the ones who have to tell them that they are going to die and that nothing more can be done to cure them. Perhaps the most difficult cases are those where further treatment is almost certainly futile, but there remains an extremely slim chance of yet more ag…Read more
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21How do researchers acquire and develop notions of research integrity? A qualitative study among biomedical researchers in SwitzerlandBMC Medical Ethics 20 (1): 1-12. 2019.Background Structured training in research integrity, research ethics and responsible conduct of research is one strategy to reduce research misconduct and strengthen reliability of and trust in scientific evidence. However, how researchers develop their sense of integrity is not fully understood. We examined the factors and circumstances that shape researchers’ understanding of research integrity. Methods This study draws insights from in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 33 researchers in…Read more
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39Defining Nano, Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine: Why Should It Matter?Science and Engineering Ethics 22 (5): 1255-1276. 2016.Nanotechnology, which involves manipulation of matter on a ‘nano’ scale, is considered to be a key enabling technology. Medical applications of nanotechnology are expected to significantly improve disease diagnostic and therapeutic modalities and subsequently reduce health care costs. However, there is no consensus on the definition of nanotechnology or nanomedicine, and this stems from the underlying debate on defining ‘nano’. This paper aims to present the diversity in the definition of nanome…Read more
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14Accommodating an Uninvited Guest: Perspectives of Researchers in Switzerland on ‘Honorary’ AuthorshipScience and Engineering Ethics 26 (2): 947-967. 2020.The aim of this paper is to analyze the attitudes and reactions of researchers towards an authorship claim made by a researcher in a position of authority who has not made any scientific contribution to a manuscript or helped to write it. This paper draws on semi-structured interviews conducted with 33 researchers at three seniority levels working in biomedicine and the life sciences in Switzerland. This manuscript focuses on the analysis of participants’ responses when presented with a vignette…Read more
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23Accommodating an Uninvited Guest: Perspectives of Researchers in Switzerland on ‘Honorary’ AuthorshipScience and Engineering Ethics 26 (2): 947-967. 2020.The aim of this paper is to analyze the attitudes and reactions of researchers towards an authorship claim made by a researcher in a position of authority who has not made any scientific contribution to a manuscript or helped to write it. This paper draws on semi-structured interviews conducted with 33 researchers at three seniority levels working in biomedicine and the life sciences in Switzerland. This manuscript focuses on the analysis of participants’ responses when presented with a vignette…Read more
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39Autonomy and Fear of Synthetic Biology: How Can Patients’ Autonomy Be Enhanced in the Field of Synthetic Biology? A Qualitative Study with Stable PatientsScience and Engineering Ethics 23 (2): 375-388. 2017.We analyzed stable patients’ views regarding synthetic biology in general, the medical application of synthetic biology, and their potential participation in trials of synthetic biology in particular. The aim of the study was to find out whether patients’ views and preferences change after receiving more detailed information about synthetic biology and its clinical applications. The qualitative study was carried out with a purposive sample of 36 stable patients, who suffered from diabetes or gou…Read more
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86CRISPR and the Rebirth of Synthetic BiologyScience and Engineering Ethics 23 (2): 351-363. 2017.Emergence of novel genome engineering technologies such as clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat has refocused attention on unresolved ethical complications of synthetic biology. Biosecurity concerns, deontological issues and human right aspects of genome editing have been the subject of in-depth debate; however, a lack of transparent regulatory guidelines, outdated governance codes, inefficient time-consuming clinical trial pathways and frequent misunderstanding of the scient…Read more
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30Using non-human primates to benefit humans: research and organ transplantation—response to César Palacios-GonzálezMedicine, Health Care and Philosophy 19 (2): 227-228. 2016.
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43An analysis of heart donation after circulatory determination of deathJournal of Medical Ethics 42 (5): 312-317. 2016.
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13Premortem interventions in dying children to optimise organ donation: an ethical analysisJournal of Medical Ethics 42 (7): 424-428. 2016.
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28The Vulnerability of the Individual Benefit ArgumentAmerican Journal of Bioethics 14 (12): 17-18. 2014.
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146. Defining Death in Donation after Circulatory Determination of DeathIn Solveig Lena Hansen & Silke Schicktanz (eds.), Ethical Challenges of Organ Transplantation, Transcript Verlag. pp. 117-132. 2021.
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47Protecting prisoners’ autonomy with advance directives: ethical dilemmas and policy issuesMedicine, Health Care and Philosophy 18 (1): 33-39. 2015.Over the last decade, several European countries and the Council of Europe itself have strongly supported the use of advance directives as a means of protecting patients’ autonomy, and adopted specific norms to regulate this matter. However, it remains unclear under which conditions those regulations should apply to people who are placed in correctional settings. The issue is becoming more significant due to the increasing numbers of inmates of old age or at risk of suffering from mental disorde…Read more
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3The Consequences of Vagueness in Consent to Organ DonationBioethics 31 (6): 424-431. 2016.In this article I argue that vagueness concerning consent to post‐mortem organ donation causes considerable harm in several ways. First, the information provided to most people registering as organ donors is very vague in terms of what is actually involved in donation. Second, the vagueness regarding consent to donation increases the distress of families of patients who are potential organ donors, both during and following the discussion about donation. Third, vagueness also increases the chance…Read more
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22Reply to reaction on ‘Organ donation after euthanasia starting at home in a patient with multiple system atrophy – case report’BMC Medical Ethics 24 (1): 1-2. 2023.We would like to respond to the comment we received from our colleagues on our case report about organ donation after euthanasia starting at home. We reply to their statements on medical and legal aspects, and provide more information on our view of informed consent.
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21Autonomy and social influence in predictive genetic testing decision‐making: A qualitative interview studyBioethics 35 (2): 199-206. 2021.Beauchamp and Childress’ definition of autonomous decision‐making includes the conditions of intentionality, understanding, and non‐control. In genetics, however, a relational conception of autonomy has been increasingly recognized. This article aims to empirically assess aspects of social influence in genetic testing decision‐making and to connect these with principlist and relational theories of autonomy. We interviewed 18 adult genetic counsellees without capacity issues considering predictiv…Read more
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21Defining Health Research for Development: The perspective of stakeholders from an international health research partnership in Ghana and TanzaniaDeveloping World Bioethics 18 (4): 331-340. 2017.Objectives The study uses a qualitative empirical method to define Health Research for Development. This project explores the perspectives of stakeholders in an international health research partnership operating in Ghana and Tanzania. Methods We conducted 52 key informant interviews with major stakeholders in an international multicenter partnership between GlaxoSmithKline and the global health nonprofit organisation PATH and its Malaria Vaccine Initiative program,. The respondents included tea…Read more
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58Structural racism in precision medicine: leaving no one behindBMC Medical Ethics 21 (1): 1-13. 2020.Precision medicine is an emerging approach to individualized care. It aims to help physicians better comprehend and predict the needs of their patients while effectively adopting in a timely manner the most suitable treatment by promoting the sharing of health data and the implementation of learning healthcare systems. Alongside its promises, PM also entails the risk of exacerbating healthcare inequalities, in particular between ethnoracial groups. One often-neglected underlying reason why this …Read more
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19Organ donation after euthanasia starting at home in a patient with multiple system atrophyBMC Medical Ethics 22 (1): 1-6. 2021.BackgroundA patient who fulfils the due diligence requirements for euthanasia, and is medically suitable, is able to donate his organs after euthanasia in Belgium, the Netherlands and Canada. Since 2012, more than 70 patients have undergone this combined procedure in the Netherlands. Even though all patients who undergo euthanasia are suffering hopelessly and unbearably, some of these patients are nevertheless willing to help others in need of an organ. Organ donation after euthanasia is a so-ca…Read more
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12Withholding conflicts of interest: the many flaws of the new ICMJE disclosure formJournal of Medical Ethics 48 (1): 19-21. 2022.In this article, I describe and analyse the proposed new International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosing conflicts of interest and conclude that it has many flaws. The form does not mention ‘conflicts of interest’ even once in either its body or its title, it introduces a conceptually confused categorisation of different potential conflicts and it ignores future conflicts and intellectual biases. Finally, many of the authors of the new form have themselves failed to declar…Read more
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18Vaccination status and intensive care unit triage: Is it fair to give unvaccinated Covid‐19 patients equal priority?Bioethics 36 (8): 883-890. 2022.This article provides a systematic analysis of the proposal to use Covid‐19 vaccination status as a criterion for admission of patients with Covid‐19 to intensive care units (ICUs) under conditions of resource scarcity. The general consensus is that it is inappropriate to use vaccination status as a criterion because doing so would be unjust; many health systems, including the UK National Health Service, are based on the principle of equality of access to care. However, the analysis reveals that…Read more
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31Using non-human primates to benefit humans: research and organ transplantationMedicine, Health Care and Philosophy 17 (4): 573-578. 2014.Emerging biotechnology may soon allow the creation of genetically human organs inside animals, with non-human primates and pigs being the best candidate species. This prospect raises the question of whether creating organs in primates in order to then transplant them into humans would be more acceptable than using them for research. In this paper, we examine the validity of the purported moral distinction between primates and other animals, and analyze the ethical acceptability of using primates…Read more