I don’t claim a monopoly on wisdom about the issues about which I advocate (some would say, obsess). But I can’t stand it when advocates just lie in support of their position. I have blogged on Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack’s false assertions that advances in cloning medical treatments . . . . Continue Reading »
Cornell Medical School has rewritten the Hippocratic Oath. Gone is the proscription against abortion. No surprise there: Foreswearing that particular act was discarded from the Oath decades ago (although it is interesting how recent newspaper stories report that few doctors today are willing to . . . . Continue Reading »
In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling in Gonzales v. Oregon, I have a piece in today’s San Francisco Chronicle addressing the context in which assisted suicide would be conducted. Context can be everything, and in a regime of legalized assisted suicide, it would be . . . . Continue Reading »
The old photo posted on the site was about 6 years old, so I have updated it with one taken about 2 months ago. I am so middle aged! How did that . . . . Continue Reading »
My co-author of Power Over Pain wrote me an interesting note about the recent SCOTUS opinion on assisted suicide: “I began to read the Gonzales decision last night. I noticed something very interesting in the first few paragraphs of the majority opinion. It refers to Oregon as being “the . . . . Continue Reading »
I am quoted in this Christian Science Monitor story about the Supreme Court assisted suicide decision. What irritates is that I pointed out this Pew Poll result to the reporter who interviewed me, noting that to support and opposition to assisted suicide was evenly divided 46-45%. (I blogged this . . . . Continue Reading »
This story demonstrates why we should be very wary of removing feeding tubes. An eleven year-old little girl named Denise Monteiro was apparently beaten by her step-father. She was diagnosed as PVS. Doctors said she would never improve. The court ordered her removed from respirator and tube feeding. . . . . Continue Reading »
The woman who was paralyzed for 19 years and had partial movement and feeling restored through umbilical cord blood stem cells has had a terrible setback. The story says it was an infection, but it also appears that she may be the victim of unethical human experimentation. The bottom line: Today she . . . . Continue Reading »
Robert Klein, the primary mover behind Proposition 71, made a big mistake by becoming the head of the California Center for Regenerative Medicine. Now, he is in growing political trouble. The Center is beset with problems, including lawsuits and a distinct tendency toward arrogance and hubris. Now, . . . . Continue Reading »