Children: A Gift or an Order?
D. Joy Riley, M.D., M.A.
Executive Director
Pick Your Baby...read more
Children: A Gift or an Order? Read More »
A Time to Embrace and a Time to Refrain from Embracing — Artificial Intelligence (AI)
D. Joy Riley, M.D., M.A.
Executive Director
The day before Thanksgiving, I needed just a few items for the feast preparations. My mother accompanied me to the grocery store, and we, along with a large sector of the local population, searched the shelves. When it was time to check out, I saw the lines peopled by the harassed clerks, and opted for the self check-out region. After scanning a couple of the larger items, I clicked the “Skip Bagging” button on the screen, and placed them back into the cart. Nearing the end of the self check-out level of Purgatory, the machine ...read moreA Time to Embrace and a Time to Refrain from Embracing — Artificial Intelligence (AI) Read More »
Making Babies? An IVF Primer
D. Joy Riley, M.D., M.A.
Executive Director
The first successful in vitro (in glass) fertilization (IVF) resulted in the birth of Louise Joy Brown in 1978 in England. Here is a brief account of that event.Cambridge embryologist Robert Edwards gave a frank interview with The Times‘ reporter Anjana Ahjuga 25 years after the birth of Louise Brown. Edwards said, “The Vatican called Louise’s birth ‘an event that can have very grave consequences for humanity’ because it divorced the conjugal sexual act from procreation.” Edwards is quoted further:
“It was a fantastic achievement but it was about more than infertility,” ...read more
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Who Is WHO?
A Visual Primer on the World Health Organization
by D. Joy Riley, M.D., M.A.
Executive Director
The World Health Organization (WHO) arose in the aftermath of WW II. Its aim as a global organization was sound “health” for everyone, whatever his/her socioeconomic position. The word health was wide-ranging in its definition: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
First Director-General of the WHO: George Brock ChisholmGeorge Brock Chisholm, a Canadian, served his country during WWI. After returning home, he trained in medicine and then Freudian psychiatry. He advanced to become the first Director ...read more
23andMe is Sold to Regeneron: What happens now?
Joyce A. Shelton, Ph.D.
Professor of Biology Emerita
Trinity International University
The direct to consumer genetic testing company 23andMe, has been in bankruptcy. On May19th of this year they announced that they have sold the company and all of its assets to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals for 256 million dollars. This sale means that Regeneron acquires 23andMe’s gigantic genetic databank garnered from approximately 15 million customers. Given the uniquely personal identifying information about themselves and family members that consumers share when they submit their genetic samples to companies like 23andMe, issues surrounding data security and privacy have long been a cause for ...read more
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Return of the Dire Wolf: Science Fiction or Science?
By Joyce A. Shelton, Ph.D.
The dire wolf has been the movie star of the media scene in recent days. Colossal Biosciences, a private US biotech company, has claimed in a jaw-dropping press release to have brought back into existence an ancient animal that has been extinct for centuries. The dire wolf was recently popularized in the sci-fi/fantasy series, Game of Thrones. G of T author, George R.R. Martin, and other celebrities are donors to Colossal Biosciences. Colossal says they have “de-extincted” the dire wolf using genetic technology. They isolated and sequenced some fragments of dire wolf DNA from a fossil tooth and skull. They then selected ...read more
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De-coupling Pseudoscience from Real Science
By Joyce Shelton, Ph.D.
Despite President Trump’s recent executive orders, one declaring that there are only two genders, male and female, and promising to restore “biological truth to the federal government,” and another “protecting children from chemical and surgical mutilation”, controversies surrounding transgender ideology and the treatment of sex/gender-confused youth remain. Daily, beleaguered parents are faced with making heart-rending, life-altering decisions regarding the best care for their beloved children. The ideology-driven advice they receive is generally more hyper-emotional than rational. How can we help? I propose that we eschew emotions and turn toward real evidence-based science to inform our thinking and decision-making ...read more
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20 Years!
We offer a profound “Thank you!” to our generous supporters. Because of you, The Tennessee Center for Bioethics & Culture has now entered our 20th year. Through your generosity, we continue to provide creative, provocative resources to help people confront the vital bioethics issues of our day. We do that through
— Our website, The Tennessee Center for Bioethics & Culture
— Monthly E-newsletters
— Archived articles, available here
— Providing speakers for schools and universities, as well as civic groups
— Art Lending Program for colleges and universities
— Special Programs
Questions? Contact us here.
With sincere wishes for a
Blessed New Year for ...read more
Seeing Patients Through Medical AI
C. Ben Mitchell, Ph.D.
Distinguished Fellow
The Tennessee Center for Bioethics & Culture
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being integrated within the practice of medicine in leaps and bounds. Fields such as radiology, telehealth, and emergency medicine are increasingly implementing AI in diagnostics and treatment. Doubtless, AI will eventually enhance patient care, prognostics, and clinical practice generally. But at what cost to the physician-patient relationship and trust?
Keeping the patient in view as a whole person is already a challenge for contemporary medicine. Patients are often objectified by their body parts, disease, or location. “That’s the ovarian cancer in ...read more
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Bringing Medical Precision to the Trigger Law in Tennessee
D. Joy Riley, M.D., M.A. Executive Director
The abortion debate is heating up in Tennessee – again. Why? Abortion was legal in the state for many years until recently. In 2019, Tennessee passed an abortion “trigger” law that would become effective 30 days following the overturning of Roe v. Wade – which happened in 2022. The Human Life Protection Act became the law of the State, and abortion is now illegal. Not everyone is pleased with this state of affairs, so amendments to the law are being considered this week.
Suddenly, it seems, health care professionals and others are interested in this law. Questions have ...read more
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