Analysis
The CRISPR revolution: Getting ahead of the ethical curve
Here is why only genetic engineers who understand and act from a classical virtue ethics are capable of adding moral ballast to the fast-moving ship […]
Articles by Sister Renée Mirkes
Essay
Why efforts to sabotage conscientious objection in healthcare must not stand
Recently, Ronit Y. Stahl, PhD and Ezekiel Emanuel, MD, PhD penned a contentious editorial published in the April 6 edition of New England Journal of Medicine entitled Physicians, Not Conscripts – Conscientious Objection in Health […]
Analysis
The “dark heart” of human-robot companionship
Professor Sherry Turkle, founder and director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self, has studied the psychology of human interactions with computational artifacts since the 1970s. In the nascent years of the 21st century, […]
Analysis
The Gender Identity Mandate: The latest threat to health care rights of conscience
Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in health coverage and care. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released the Final […]
Analysis
Health Care Rights of Conscience: An Endangered Species
There are emerging conflicts in what I call the second round of health care conscientious objection. The first round, following Roe v. Wade, continues to engage religious health care providers in conscientious objection to abortion, […]
Essay
Analysis
Same-Sex Marriage and Parenting: Four Big Myths Debunked
Popular opinion would have us believe the legalization of same-sex marriage and parenting is a straightforward matter of justice. But not everyone concurs. In fact, the dissenters constitute a rising chorus of voices who identify […]
Special Report
Prospective Chromosome Therapy for Down Syndrome: Hopes, Fears, and Ethics
On August 15, 2013, developmental biologist Jeanne Lawrence reported what many had previously considered inconceivable. [1] Her research team successfully silenced the extra chromosome 21 in Down syndrome (DS) stem cells. That is, in laboratory-grown cells, […]
Special Report
The Injustices of the Surrogacy Industry
Mothers have long believed, cultures have long taught, and research has repeatedly confirmed that an emotional network links pregnant moms to their babies. If mom is happy, the preborn baby is content. When mom is […]