•  827
    The Philosophers' Brief on Chimpanzee Personhood
    Proposed Brief by Amici Curiae Philosophers in Support of the Petitioner-Appelllant Court of Appeals, State of New York,. 2018.
    In this brief, we argue that there is a diversity of ways in which humans (Homo sapiens) are ‘persons’ and there are no non-arbitrary conceptions of ‘personhood’ that can include all humans and exclude all nonhuman animals. To do so we describe and assess the four most prominent conceptions of ‘personhood’ that can be found in the rulings concerning Kiko and Tommy, with particular focus on the most recent decision, Nonhuman Rights Project, Inc v Lavery.
  •  3775
    In December 2013, the Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) filed a petition for a common law writ of habeas corpus in the New York State Supreme Court on behalf of Tommy, a chimpanzee living alone in a cage in a shed in rural New York (Barlow, 2017). Under animal welfare laws, Tommy’s owners, the Laverys, were doing nothing illegal by keeping him in those conditions. Nonetheless, the NhRP argued that given the cognitive, social, and emotional capacities of chimpanzees, Tommy’s confinement constituted …Read more
  •  15
    Ethical Analyses of Predictive Brain Implants Should Be Consistent With Feminist Interpretations of Autonomy
    with Timothy M. Krahn
    American Journal of Bioethics Neuroscience 6 (4): 48-49. 2015.
  •  21
  •  19
    Towards Improving the Ethics of Ecological Research
    with Albrecht I. Schulte-Hostedde
    Science and Engineering Ethics 21 (3): 577-594. 2015.
    We argue that the ecological research community should develop a plan for improving the ethical consistency and moral robustness of the field. We propose a particular ethics strategy—specifically, an ongoing process of collective ethical reflection that the community of ecological researchers, with the cooperation of applied ethicists and philosophers of biology, can use to address the needs we identify. We suggest a particular set of conceptual and analytic tools that, we argue, collectively ha…Read more
  •  34
    One of the areas of concern raised by cross-border reproductive travel regards the treatment of women who are solicited to provide their ova or surrogacy services to foreign consumers. This is particularly troublesome in the context of developing countries where endemic poverty and low standards for both medical care and informed consent may place these women at risk of exploitation and harm. We explore two contrasting proposals for policy development regarding the industry, both of which seek t…Read more
  •  9
    Stem Cell Tourism and The Role of Health Professional Organizations
    with Kyle Thomsen
    American Journal of Bioethics 10 (5): 36-38. 2010.
    No abstract
  •  90
    At the intersections of emotional and biological labor: Understanding transnational commercial surrogacy as social reproduction
    with Jennifer L. Johnson and Christopher Hajzler
    International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics 7 (2): 45-74. 2014.
    Drawing on conceptual tools from philosophical bioethics, economics, and materialist feminism, we advocate viewing transnational commercial surrogacy as labor and consider what it means to compensate women for this work. We find two distinct but interrelated concerns emerge in our discussion of wages for surrogates: how to value and compensate for social reproduction, and how to establish a fair wage for surrogates. We explore limitations of minimum wage policy in addressing the undervaluation o…Read more
  •  15
    Why Training in Ecological Research Must Incorporate Ethics Education
    with Albrecht I. Schulte-Hostedde
    Hastings Center Report 45 (5): 14-19. 2015.
    Like other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, ecological research needs ethics. Given the rapid pace of technological developments and social change, it is important for scientists to have the vocabulary and critical-thinking skills necessary to identify, analyze, and communicate the ethical issues generated by the research and practices within their fields of specialization. The goal of introducing ethics education for ecological researchers would be to promote a discipli…Read more
  •  30
    Juvenile Ovarian Tissue Cryopreservation and Social Justice: An Imperative to Broaden the Discussion
    with Brandon Michaud
    American Journal of Bioethics 12 (6): 46-47. 2012.
    The American Journal of Bioethics, Volume 12, Issue 6, Page 46-47, June 2012
  •  19
    The greatest challenge for Cultural Selection Theory, which holds that Darwinian natural selection contributes to cultural evolution, lies is the paucity of evidence for structural mechanisms in cultural systems that are sufficient for adaptation by natural selection. In part, clarification is required with respect to the interaction between cultural systems and their purported selective environments. Edmonds, Hull, and others have argued that Cultural Selection Theory requires simple, conclusiv…Read more
  •  15
    Careworkers in the global market: Appraising applications of feminist care ethics
    International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics 3 (1): 113-137. 2010.
    Feminist Care Ethics has much to offer in an analysis of the international migration of care workers. This paper argues, however, that Joan Tronto’s analysis of this international care regime is incomplete insofar as it overlooks the ways in which the current global care market is progressive for the workers and the significant harms this market is inflicting on care receivers in source countries. In order for Feminist Care Ethics to fulfill its potential, it must be developed beyond a visionary…Read more
  •  20
    Symbolism and Sacredness of Human Parthenotes
    with Zubin Master
    American Journal of Bioethics 11 (3): 37-39. 2011.
    This Article does not have an abstract
  •  36
    NIMBY Claims, Free Riders and Universalisability
    with Christopher Hajzler
    Ethics, Place and Environment 13 (3): 317-320. 2010.
    In ‘Why not NIMBY?’, Simon Feldman and Derek Turner mount a compelling case that NIMBY claims are not intrinsically morally unjustified, despite the fact that NIMBY-claimants...
  •  33
    The ethical physician encounters international medical travel
    with F. Baylis
    Journal of Medical Ethics 36 (5): 297-301. 2010.
    International medical travel occurs when patients cross national borders to purchase medical goods and services. On occasion, physicians in home countries will be the last point of domestic contact for patients seeking healthcare information before they travel abroad for care. When this is the case, physicians have a unique opportunity to inform patients about their options and help guide them towards ethical practices. This opportunity brings to the fore an important question: What role should …Read more
  •  51
    Care workers in the global market Appraising applications of feminist care ethics
    International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics 3 (1): 113-137. 2010.
    In the current global care regime, care shortages in wealthy nations such as the United States, Canada, Italy, and Hong Kong are being addressed through the global supply of cheap migrant care labor from less wealthy nations. This paper argues that Feminist Care Ethics has a great deal to offer in the analysis of this global care regime. Joan Tronto's own critiques of the migration of care workers have focused on analogies between workers and imported slaves: both are intrinsically exploited, vu…Read more
  •  65
    The Ethics of Moral Compromise for Stem Cell Research Policy
    with Zubin Master
    Health Care Analysis 20 (1): 50-65. 2012.
    In the US, stem cell research is at a moral impasse—many see this research as ethically mandated due to its potential for ameliorating major diseases, while others see this research as ethically impermissible because it typically involves the destruction of embryos and use of ova from women. Because their creation does not require embryos or ova, induced pluripotent stem cells offer the most promising path for addressing the main ethical objections to stem cell research; however, this technology…Read more
  •  55
    Reconsidering cultural selection theory
    British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 59 (3): 455-479. 2008.
    This paper examines conceptual issues that arise in applications of Darwinian natural selection to cultural systems. I argue that many criticisms of cultural selectionist models have been based on an over-detailed reading of the analogy between biological and cultural units of selection. I identify five of the most powerful objections to cultural selection theory and argue that none cuts to its heart. Some objections are based on mistaken assumptions about the simplicity of the mechanisms of bio…Read more
  •  67
    The greatest challenge for Cultural Selection Theory lies is the paucity of evidence for structural mechanisms in cultural systems that are sufficient for adaptation by natural selection. In part, clarification is required with respect to the interaction between cultural systems and their purported selective environments. Edmonds et al. have argued that Cultural Selection Theory requires simple, conclusive, unambiguous case studies in order to meet this challenge. To that end, this paper examine…Read more