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Journal of Medical Ethics is a leading international journal that reflects the whole field of medical ethics.
Principles of Biomedical Ethics, 5th edn.
The Principles of Biomedical Ethics by Beauchamp and Childress is a classic in the field of medical ethics. The first edition was published in 1979 and “unleashed” the four principles of respect for autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice on the newly emerging field. These principles were argued to be mid-level principles mediating between high-level moral theory and low-level ...
Journal of Medical Ethics at 50: a data-driven history
Jan 12, 2025 · In this paper, we take a data-driven approach to analyse intellectual trends over the first five decades of the Journal of Medical Ethics ( JME ). Our data set, comprising all texts published in the JME since 1975, reveals not only the most distinctive topics of the JME in comparison to other key journals with similar profiles but also diachronic fluctuations in the prominence of certain ...
Professional obligations and the demandingness of acting against …
Dec 23, 2024 · Conscience is typically invoked in healthcare to defend a right to conscientious objection, that is, the refusal by healthcare professionals to perform certain activities in the name of personal moral or religious views. On this approach, freedom of conscience should be respected when the individual is operating in a professional capacity. Others would argue, however, that a conscientious ...
Distributive justice, best options and organ markets: a reply to …
Dec 24, 2024 · How important is it, morally speaking, that banning the sale of organs removes the best option available to would-be organ sellers? According to a widespread argument called the best option argument, this is very important. In a recent article I criticised such reasoning, drawing on considerations of distributive justice. Luke Semrau has argued that I …
Ennui | Journal of Medical Ethics
Epitomised by tedium and existential vacuity, ennui insidiously permeates the psyche of healthcare professionals, often eluding detection. Its etiological roots extend beyond its salient exploration in French literature, harking back to the early Christian treatises on acedia or spiritual desuetude.1 Throughout the centuries, ennui has undergone …
Strengthening harm-theoretic pro-life views | Journal of Medical …
Nov 13, 2024 · A pro-life view can be called harm-theoretic if it claims abortion is impermissible because of the harm caused to the fetus. These positions are important in the abortion discussion because they allow pro-lifers to argue abortion is impermissible without claiming the fetus is a moral person. A major problem with harm-theoretic abortion views is that they fall victim to the contraception ...
Rethinking selective prohibitions: the inconsistency of a …
The ‘tobacco-free generation’ policy, which bans cigarette sales based on birth year, presents a bold public health initiative but raises significant ethical and practical concerns. As behaviours like drug use become legal and criminal penalties are reduced, singling out smoking for generational restriction appears inconsistent within an increasingly permissive society. Kniess1 critiques ...
Using the Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and …
In the UK, the Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment (ReSPECT) is a widely used process, designed to facilitate shared decision-making between a clinician and a patient or, if the patient lacks capacity to participate in the conversation, a person close to the patient. A key outcome of the ReSPECT process is a set of recommendations, recorded on the patient-held ReSPECT ...
The challenge of Terri Schiavo: lessons for bioethics
This essay reviews a range of issues arising from the complex case of Terri Schiavo and the lessons the case raises for bioethicists. It argues that embedded in the case is a broader controversy than is immediately evident, one involving the definitions by which bioethics judge cases of extreme physical and psychological limits, in …