We Can Help You, But First…: Reports out of DCR indicate ebola vaccine study recruiters are demanding sex in exchange for enrollment
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In the last few days, allegations of terrible ethical violations have hit the news. These primarily concern Congolese women who are being recruited for the Ebola vaccine trials, and who are seeking vaccination under the “compassionate use” exemptions that allow … Continue reading

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Shifting Perspectives: A Victim-Centered Account of Microaggressions in Medicine, and Beyond
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Lauren FreemanHeather Stewart This guest blog comes to IJFAB from Lauren Freeman and Heather Stewart, and conveys the core of the argument they render in a recent issue of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal.  Freeman is Associate Professor of Philosophy … Continue reading

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ACOG response to recent public rhetoric on the New York state abortion law and other discussions of “late abortion”
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As you may know, the US has recently been in the throes of an impassioned debate over abortion. There has recently been a great deal of discussion of New York’s new abortion law, and on Virginia politicians’ claims about late … Continue reading

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Thinking about abortion beyond “pro-life” and “pro-choice”
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I have been seeing so much about the New York abortion law debate that I feel almost compelled to say a few words about it. The law states that a physician “may perform an abortion when, according to the practitioner’s … Continue reading

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When Medical Scheduling Software Doesn’t Follow Medical Ethics Guidelines
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Here is yet another example of the constant violations of our privacy rights we now endure in online settings. I’m scheduling a medical appointment online right now. There’s no mention of patient confidentiality or HIPAA on the scheduling site–but in … Continue reading

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Unethical Care for Laboring Women in British Prisons and for Indigenous Women in Canada
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Alas, I am getting ready to go to FAB Congress in Bangalore, India soon, so I don’t have the time to  craft a full argument on two news stories about reproductive ethics that came to my attention this past week.  … Continue reading

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Woman’s Body as Public Property: Title X and Reproductive Choice in Trump’s America
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Initiated in 1970, Title X is the only federal grant that is solely dedicated to providing family-planning funding, with a focus on serving low-income populations. The Title X program historically allowed all women, regardless of economic circumstances, access to birth … Continue reading

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Society is too slow to learn what learned people look like: Black women ARE what a doctor looks like
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Two years ago, in the wake of an incident in which a black woman doctor attempted to render medical aid and was dismissed due to doubt that she was a physician, IJFAB Blog featured a post on the issue of … Continue reading

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At the intersection of “fat” and “female”, it can be hard to get health care providers to provide health care
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Over at Inc., Suzanne Lucas has a good piece published August 27, 2018 on how unconscious bias can affect fat women’s access to health care. Too often, says Lucas, their testimony may be dismissed with dire consequences, because of their fatness … Continue reading

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Founding member of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics Network, Brazilian bioethicist Prof Debora Diniz, in hiding due to death threats

Yesterday, The Guardian reported on the dire straits afflicting Debora Diniz in Brazil. Diniz, a founding member of the Feminist Approaches to Bioethics Network (FABnet) which birthed IJFAB and consequently this blog, has gone into hiding. Diniz has long experienced harassment in … Continue reading

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How to Fail Chronic Pain Patients
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An article recently posted by NPR describes the latest solution to a crisis of which usually only one side is well-represented:  the well-publicized fear of opioid abuse versus the quieter, yet ongoing, experiences of chronic pain patients who are losing … Continue reading

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“Are you really trans?”: The Problem with Trans Brain Science
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Editor’s Note: Anna K. Swartz works on neuroethics and mental illness. Here, she reflects on the conceptual and ethical pitfalls of attempting to use brain scans to determine whether children who report being trans are “really” trans. In late May … Continue reading

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