Four years ago, nearly to the day, IJFAB Blog contributor Alison Reiheld wrote on the repeal of Swedish laws that had required transgender person to be sterile (or become sterile) AND to have surgical sex reassignment in order to change … Continue reading
In 1996, historian of science Edward Tenner published his influential book Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences. It is an extended consideration of how technology comes to demand much of us even as it frees us from … Continue reading
Every once in awhile a venue surprises you: Teen Vogue has been doing good critical reporting on social justice issues and American politics, and Cosmopolitan–long the home of beauty tips and how to please your man–has just published an article … Continue reading
Amidst the flurry of news in the last week over artificial wombs–a primitive artificial placental sack, or “biobag”, sustained sheep fetuses for four weeks–most of the coverage focused on the value in caring for premature infants. I was reminded of Judith … Continue reading
EDITOR’S NOTE: Bioethicist Rory Kraft brings us this handy explanation of the complicated legislative processes in the U.S. Congress, and offers some recommendations for ethicists’ involvement in American healthcare reform going forward. For Kraft’s previous IJFAB Blog reflections on health … Continue reading
EDITOR’S NOTE: Earlier this afternoon, the U.S. House (one of the chambers of America’s bicameral legislature) voted 217-213 to approve a bill to repeal major parts of the Affordable Care Act, AKA Obamacare. The measure that cleared the House will then … Continue reading
Editor’s Note: See “Body Ecology and Commodification in The Handmaid’s Tale” by Rebecca Bratten Weiss, and more to come. Over the next few weeks, IJFAB Blog will have several original blog entries on The Handmaid’s Tale, both the book and … Continue reading
A recent article by Natalia Megas in The Guardian profiles three women who chose late abortions and who had very much wanted to be pregnant. It is a moving exploration of the seriousness of abortion as a moral issue, and an important set … Continue reading
EDITOR’S NOTE: This piece’s posting was delayed by technical errors. However, the analysis of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) is still pressing and relevant. While the bill was pulled from a planned House vote in the US Congress on … Continue reading
Salome Karwah was recognized by Time magazine as an Ebola fighter during the 2015 Ebola outbreak. She died February 21 from complications of childbirth by C-section. Days after the procedure, she collapsed from a seizure and began foaming at the … Continue reading
Over at the Feminist Midwife, we find a valuable post on WHY something that may seem prima facie wrong is, in fact, wrong. In an entry called “Patients Are Not Bitches, and Thoughts Medical Othering,” Feminist Midwife considers a case … Continue reading
Thanks to Gretchen Case for this image of the Pasteur Memorial at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. It is a timely reminder as the context for global public health shifts, and many powerful nations (US, UK, France, and other European … Continue reading
