1. The Economist Endorses Physician Assisted Suicide

The editorial board of The Economist, a well-regarded weekly magazine, endorsed physician assisted suicide this week. In a provocative editorial, they write: “Competent adults are allowed to make other momentous, irrevocable choices: to undergo a sex change or to have an abortion. People deserve the same control over their own death.” For a magazine focused on economic analysis, this should come as no surprise. Of course it’s easier and cheaper to kill people off rather than to provide adequate care. While their argument is couched in the language of “choice,” it’s all too clear what’s motivating this endorsement. For shame.

  1. UK Bioethicist Encourages All 18 Year Olds to Freeze Sperm

A bioethicist in the United Kingdom is encouraging all 18 year olds to freeze their sperm “to avoid the potential health risks that come with fathering a child at an older age.” There’s a lot of money to be made in sperm banking, so why not come up with an excuse to incentivize it? The quest for perfection continues.

  1. California Physician Assisted Suicide Bill Delayed

The much-discussed California physician assisted suicide bill seems to be in limbo. As Debra Saunders reports in the San Francisco Chronicle, the bill’s co-sponsors “had to pull a scheduled vote in the Assembly Health Committee and delay it until July 7 because . . . six committee Democrats are not on board.” This goes to evidence that even progressive and liberal politicians are wary of physician assisted suicide. Here at the CBC, we join Saunders in hoping the bill dies a natural death.

  1. Surrogate Born Baby Boy Abandoned in India

“Baby boy abandoned in India by parents who kept his twin sister but left him behind ‘as they already had a boy and couldn’t afford twins,’” reads a headline in this week’s Daily Mail. It’s sadly becoming a familiar headline. The Australian couple who abandoned their surrogate conceived child in 2012 is now under investigation, and Jennifer Lahl details the case against them here. A common refrain is that regulation is needed to prevent situations like this, but those of us who follow these stories on a daily basis know that the only way to fully prevent this from happening is to Stop Surrogacy Now.

  1. CBC in the News: Jennifer Lahl Writes on Nick Loeb’s Frozen Embryos

In a new article out this week in National Review, Jennifer Lahl laments the tragic and messy situation that has led to Nick Loeb, former fiancé of Sofia Vergara, fighting to save his two frozen embryos. Loeb is engaged in a complicated, though noble legal battle to save these embryos, but as Lahl reminds us “At the moment, these embryos, who were created as wanted children, seem to be caught in a custody battle that sadly may be fought and won as if they were products.”

This Week in Bioethics Archive

Image by Chris_Samuel via flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Author Profile

Christopher White, Ramsey Institute Project Director