Bioethics in the News

The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity has released this list of what they consider the top related news stories this week:

 Stem cell therapy to repair damaged knee cartilage  Rush University Medical Center is conducting the nation’s first clinical study of an innovative stem cell drug, Cartistem, to repair knee cartilage damaged by aging, trauma or degenerative diseases such as osteoarthritis. (Science Daily)

Abusive partners can sabotage contraception While researchers don’t know exactly how common it is, the nation’s leading group of obstetricians and gynecologists says women should be screened for ‘reproductive coercion.’ (U.S.A. Today)

Japanese researchers say kidney tissue grown from stem cells (update) Researchers in Japan said Wednesday that they have succeeded in growing human kidney tissue from stem cells for the first time, in a potential first step towards helping millions who depend on dialysis. (Medical Xpress)

Experts propose overhaul of ethics oversight of research  The longstanding ethical framework for protecting human volunteers in medical research needs to be replaced because it is outdated and can impede efforts to improve health care quality, assert leaders in bioethics, medicine, and health policy in two companion articles in a Hastings Center Report special report, “Ethical Oversight of Learning Health Care Systems.” One of the authors calling for a new approach is the main architect of the current ethical framework. (Eurekalert)

Protests mark anniversary of landmark abortion ruling  Americans on Tuesday marked the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, even as battles over the contentious issue have largely shifted from the federal courts to statehouses. (Reuters)

 ‘I can create Neanderthal baby, I just need a willing woman’  A scientist has said it would be possible to clone a Neanderthal baby from ancient DNA if he could find a woman willing to act as a surrogate. (The Telegraph)

Strangers protest care of man in end-of-life  A throng of protesters stood outside St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital on Sunday, signs held high, voices carrying in the cold air and their message made clear: Paul G. Smith, a gravely ill 88-year-old man, is not getting the care he needs. (U.S.A. Today)

California woman pleads guilty in assisted suicide of WW II veteran  A California woman accused of helping an 86-year-old World War II veteran kill himself by mixing a lethal dose of Oxycontin into his yogurt pleaded guilty on Friday to a charge of assisted suicide and was sentenced to probation. (Reuters)

Women’s health in Islam: Addressing harmful traditional practice  In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, as in other regions, women and newborn children are among the most vulnerable population groups. Ten countries are still at risk of not achieving Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 by 2015, and health indicators for these two population groups continue to be a cause for alarm in several countries of the Region. (World Health Organization) 

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