Ethics & Health Law News

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Archive for category Pregnancy

A Case Study in Unethical Transgressive Bioethics: Letter of Concern from Bioethicists About the Prenatal Administration of Dexamethasone

Sep 5

Posted by Nancy Lentz in Bioethics, Biomedical Research, Clinical Ethics, Health Law, Pregnancy, Safety, The Pharmaceutical Industry | Comments off

The American Journal of Bioethics 10(9):35-45 2010, By Laurence B. McCullough, Robert Brent, Frank A. Chervenak, Benjamin Hippen, 3 September 2010

“On February 3, 2010, a Letter of Concern from Bioethicists, organized by fetaldex.org, was sent to report suspected violations of the ethics of human subjects research in the off-label use of dexamethasone during pregnancy by Dr. Maria New. Copies of this letter were submitted to the FDA Office of Pediatric Therapeutics, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office for Human Research Protections, and three universities where Dr. New has held or holds appointments.”

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Contract pregnancy ethics and moral issues

Sep 5

Posted by Sabina Bhate in Abortion, Human Rights, Pregnancy, Principle-Based Ethics | Comments off

KevinMD.com-27 August, 2010

Author: Debra Satz

“Indeed there is a dilemma for those who wish to use the mother-fetus bond to condemn pregnancy contracts while endorsing a woman’s right to choose an abortion. But the fact remains that some women never bond with their fetuses; some women even fail to bond with their babies after they deliver them.”

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Help for Women Who Are Forced to Get Pregnant

Sep 1

Posted by Sabina Bhate in Human Rights, Informed Consent, Pregnancy | Comments off

Time.com-31 August, 2010.

Author: Belinda Luscombe

“Reproductive coercion, as it’s known, takes several forms. Partners may verbally or physically threaten women if they use birth control or seek abortions, or they may throw away or damage birth control and remove condoms during sex.”

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Italian minister apologises after delivery room fight

Aug 31

Posted by Sabina Bhate in Pregnancy, Registration and Professionalism, Safety | Comments off

BBC Europe- 30 August, 2010

“Italy’s health minister has apologised to a woman for a fight between two doctors in the delivery room as she was about to give birth. The authorities are investigating whether the woman suffered complications as a result of the row.”

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Contract pregnancy ethics and moral issues

Aug 29

Posted by Nancy Lentz in Case Law, Clinical Ethics, Health Law, Pregnancy | Comments off

KevinMD, by Debra Satz, 29 August 2010

“Sometimes what critics of pregnancy contracts have in mind is not the effect of such contracts on the relationship between reproductive labor and a woman’s sense of self, but their effect on her views (and ours) of the mother-fetus and mother-child bond. On this view, what is wrong with commodifying reproductive labor is that it corrupts motherhood, the relationships between mothers and their offspring.”

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Epidurals protect key muscles in labour, study suggests

Aug 26

Posted by Nancy Lentz in Biomedical Research, Pregnancy, Safety | Comments off

BBC News, By Clare Murphy, 26 August 2010

“Having an epidural during labour may protect key muscles and therefore cut the risk of incontinence in later life, a study of nearly 400 women suggests. Research in the BJOG, the leading obstetrics journal, found more than one in ten women who had vaginal births suffered damage to the “levator” muscles which hold up internal organs.”

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How could this happen? Hospital blunder turns a family’s joy into heartbreak

Aug 23

Posted by Sabina Bhate in Negligence, New South Wales Health Services, Pregnancy | Comments off

SMH-21 August, 2010

Author: Julie Robotham

“Grace Wang’s spinal canal was injected with powerful antiseptic instead of anaesthetic, in what should have been a routine epidural to ease the pain of her first child’s birth.”

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NURSES AND MIDWIVES ARE GETTING OLD, WAITING FOR CHANGE

Aug 21

Posted by Nancy Lentz in Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Health Law, Health Students, Medical Boards and Associations, New Legislation, Nursing, Pregnancy, Public Health | Comments off

 College of Nursing, 20 August 2010

“Royal College of Nursing, Australia and The College of Nursing call for immediate action to ensure sustainable nursing and midwifery workforces into the future. When will all the major political parties announce sufficient resources to solve one of the biggest challenges facing the nursing and midwifery workforces, both organisations asked today? RCNA CEO Debra Cerasa said that the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) had reported state-wide skills shortages of registered nurses and midwives in all jurisdictions, and shortages of enrolled nurses in NSW, QLD, WA and ACT. “Our nursing and midwifery .”

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Resolution in Florida Wrongful Birth Case

Aug 21

Posted by Nancy Lentz in Abortion, Case Law, Health Law, Negligence, Pregnancy, Principle-Based Ethics | Comments off

Genomics Law Report, By Tom Clarkson, 17 August 2010

“The “Wrongful Birth” debate is in the news yet again. In a pair of previous posts (here and here) the Genomics Law Report highlighted several issues relevant to the debate over what happens when states recognize a cause of action for wrongful birth, wrongful life or wrongful conception. A recent example from Florida illustrates that the debate continues.”

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Pro-Lifers Blast FDA Approval of ‘Abortion Drug’ Ella

Aug 15

Posted by Nancy Lentz in Abortion, Medical Boards and Associations, Pregnancy, Principle-Based Ethics, The Pharmaceutical Industry | Comments off

The Christian Post, By Lillian Kwon, 14 August 2010

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the sale and use of an “emergency contraceptive” that opponents are calling the “new abortion drug.”  “Women deserve better than this,” said Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America. “If the FDA deliberately misleads women by mislabeling the drug as a contraceptive, and does not send the drug back for adequate trials to determine the possible serious complications to women and their babies, it will be putting abortion politics above women’s health.”"

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