I Should Have Read More History
D. Joy Riley, M.D., M.A. Executive Director
As a teenager, I decided I wanted to be a physician — to help people. I also naively thought that medicine was apolitical. I should have read more history. If I had, I might have come across the story of Ignác Fülöp Semmelweis.
Semmelweis was born to Hungarian parents slightly more than 200 years ago, in 1818. Although he began to study law, he ended up graduating from medical school in 1844. Other plans of his changed as well. When he did not land a position in internal medicine, he spent four extra months training to ...read more
Risk versus Benefit
Janet Liljestrand, M.D., M.A.
Whether we realize it or not, we weigh the benefit versus the risk of most decisions, large and small. When making medical decisions, physicians will sometimes refer to the risk/benefit ratio. A math problem with numbers? Unfortunately not, but a clinical judgment seeking to determine if the benefit that this particular patient is likely to receive is greater or lesser than the risks the patient will be assuming with the procedure or medication.
Childhood immunizations risks are often stated to be less than one in a million. With such a low risk, the benefits are great by comparison. ...read more
What We’re Reading
www.CartoonStock.com
C. Ben Mitchell, Ph.D. Distinguished Fellow
Medically assisted deaths rose by 17% in 2020, continuing upward trend: Health CanadaBy Joan Bryden The Canadian Press Posted June 8, 2021 1:01 am
I have several concerns about this situation:
For Health Canada, the government health service, to provide access to P-AS is a financial conflict of interest. Medicalized suicide should not be in the hands of those who hold the purse strings. Pain is manageable but other forms of suffering are not best treated with analgesics. True palliative care must address all forms of suffering. Medicine should not be coopted by the P-AS ...read moreA Tale of Two Data Scientists
Neil Ferguson, Ph.D. Infamous Graph Youyang Gu
D. Joy Riley, M.D., M.A. Executive Director
It was a long year ago (March 2020) that a dire prediction was issued by a group at Imperial College London (UK) regarding the possible effects of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. The model predicted more than 500,000 UK deaths, and >2.2 million deaths in the U.S. by summer if no action were taken. One of the data scientists issuing that proclamation was Neil Ferguson, Ph.D. He and his group advised the government that “in the UK and US context, suppression will minimally require a combination of social distancing of the entire ...read more
Is It Science or Scientism?
Joyce Shelton, Ph.D. Professor of Biology, Trinity International University Guest Column
In the climate of fear, uncertainty and urgency engendered by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is often difficult to know what to do or whom to trust. Public policy makers are daily making decisions and enacting rules that affect our lives and dictate our actions in the name of protection. They lend authority and justification to their decisions by claiming that they are following the science, implying that this appeal to a trusted, rational voice should be enough to calm our concerns and guarantee our compliance. But the elevation of science to the ...read more
The Ethics of Rationing COVID-19 Vaccine for the Sickest Among Us
C. Ben Mitchell, Ph.D Distinguished Fellow
We must not allow our combined COVID-19 fatigue to prevent us from asking important questions about public health ethics. At the time I am writing this essay, we are just transitioning into Phase 2 of the vaccination plan. I am sure our public health officials are doing the best they can under unprecedented circumstances, so we should give them the benefit of the doubt. But for the sake of clarity in the future, some retrospective analysis will be crucial.
For instance, in our own state, we have abandoned traditional triage ethics in favor of a purely age-based ...read more
Parenting in the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Janet Liljestrand, M.D., M.A.*
Rearing children is a time-consuming and emotionally taxing undertaking. The current pandemic has magnified the enormity of this task by disrupting the lives of adults and children alike. What does a parent say and do in the midst of a pandemic that has the added burden of activity restrictions, a 24-hour news cycle, multiple voices on social media, and changing messages from the “experts,” all mixed with a touch of hysteria? The basics of parenting in the midst of a pandemic are much the same as any other stressful time with the possible exception that the stressful ...read more
The Problem of Ill-Gotten Gain in Health Care
C. Ben Mitchell, Ph.D. Distinguished Fellow
The politicized debate about President Trump’s treatment for Covid-19 may have shrouded an important set of questions about the science of developing treatments, viz., the problem of ill-gotten gain.
Among other treatment protocols, the President received Regeneron’s REGN-COV2, a “cocktail” of two neutralizing antibodies that has shown promise in some animal studies (see here and here). The media jumped on an association between REGN-COV2 antibodies and fetal cells, some even claiming that the antibodies were developed from fetal cells.
Screenshot of NYT headline on Oct. 8, 2020
The fact of the matter is REGN-COV2 was tested for its virus-neutralizing ...read more
Flourishing in Difficult Times
Zen Nails, in Brentwood, TN, recently reopened for business. The nail salon had been closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. But it had not been idle. The owners, along with other volunteers, decided to contribute to the common good in a very needed way. They sewed masks and donated them to medical workers as well as to the Navajo nation.
Read the story here.
Focusing on “Culture”
D. Joy Riley, M.D., M.A. Executive Director
The Tennessee Center for Bioethics & Culture exists to promote human dignity in the face of 21st Century bioethics challenges. Our theme for 2020 is Human Flourishing. Living in the surreal time of a pandemic with all the increased complexity of our lives, flourishing can almost seem too high an ideal. Artist Carol Harkness penned the following essay (lightly edited) about the important building blocks of culture—integrally related to flourishing—and that not only for our day.
We are still busy with bioethics as well. Here are a few recent articles you may want to check out:
“Dying ...read more