Medical Ethics

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- When Governor Ernie Fletcher signed a death warrant for a convicted killer this month, he may have done more than start the clock ticking on an execution. Some say Fletcher, a doctor, may have put his medical license at risk. American Medical Association guidelines bar doctors from taking part, directly or indirectly, in executions. And Kentucky requires doctors to follow AMA ethical guidelines. "I think it's a clear violation," said Dr. Arthur Zitrin, an 86-year-old retired psychiatrist in New York and an outspoken death-penalty opponent.

Argentina's senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a "dignified death" law giving terminally ill patients and their families more power to make end-of-life decisions. The law passed by a vote of 55 to zero, with 17 senators declaring themselves absent. It passed the lower house last year. Now Argentine families won't have to struggle to find judges to order doctors to end life-support for people who are dying or in a permanent vegetative state. Getting such approval can be very difficult in many countries, particularly in Latin America, where opposition from the Roman...

You’ve just started treatment with a new psychiatrist, whom you like very much. Should you “friend’’ her on Facebook? If she says yes, what if she finds those pictures of you dancing drunkenly with the lampshade on your head — after you told her you don’t drink anymore? Or what if you discover pictures of her snuggled up with her husband and two adorable kids, when the reason you went into therapy in the first place was that you’re sad about being single and childless?

CONCORD, N.H. — A Massachusetts doctor convicted of killing his wife’s lover won’t be practicing medicine in New Hampshire. The New Hampshire Board of Medicine denied an appeal yesterday by Dr. James Kartell, who served nearly eight years in prison for fatally shooting his estranged wife’s boyfriend in 1999 as they argued over who should leave her hospital room. Kartell, 70, of Andover, Mass., said after the decision he probably will not appeal the board’s ruling to the New Hampshire Supreme Court.

Argentina's senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a "dignified death" law giving terminally ill patients and their families more power to make end-of-life decisions. The law passed by a vote of 55 to zero, with 17 senators declaring themselves absent. It passed the lower house last year. Now Argentine families won't have to struggle to find judges to order doctors to end life-support for people who are dying or in a permanent vegetative state. Getting such approval can be very difficult in many countries, particularly in Latin America, where opposition from the Roman...

CONCORD, N.H. — A Massachusetts doctor convicted of killing his wife’s lover won’t be practicing medicine in New Hampshire. The New Hampshire Board of Medicine denied an appeal yesterday by Dr. James Kartell, who served nearly eight years in prison for fatally shooting his estranged wife’s boyfriend in 1999 as they argued over who should leave her hospital room. Kartell, 70, of Andover, Mass., said after the decision he probably will not appeal the board’s ruling to the New Hampshire Supreme Court.

LONDON -- Doctors working for the US military in Iraq collaborated with interrogators in the abuse of detainees at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison, profoundly breaching medical ethics and human rights, a bioethicist charges in The Lancet medical journal. In a scathing analysis of the behavior of military doctors, nurses, and medics, University of Minnesota professor Steven Miles calls for a reform of military medicine and an official investigation into the role played by physicians and other medical staff in the abuse scandal.

WHITTIER, Calif. - How in the world does a woman with six children get a fertility doctor to help her have more - eight more? An ethical debate erupted yesterday after it was learned that the Southern California woman who gave birth to octuplets this week had six children already. Large multiple births "are presented on TV shows as a 'Brady Bunch' moment. They're not," fumed Arthur Caplan, bioethics chairman at the University of Pennsylvania. He noted the serious and sometimes lethal complications and crushing medical costs that often come with high-multiple...

No more letting industry help pay for developing medical guidelines. Restrictions on consulting deals. And no more pens with drug company names or other swag at conferences. These are part of a new ethics code that dozens of leading medical groups announced yesterday, aimed at limiting the influence that drug and device makers have over patient care. It is the most sweeping move ever taken by the Council of Medical Specialty Societies to curb conflict of interest — a growing concern as private industry bankrolls a greater...

IN MARCH OF 1944, prominent Boston surgeon Frank Lahey received a highly unusual request: Come to the White House to consult on the health of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. With the presidential election approaching in November, rumors had been circulating about the 62-year-old Roosevelt’s health, including speculation he was suffering from a paralytic stroke, heart disease, cancer of the prostate, and a mental breakdown. He had lost considerable weight, and his once robust appearance had given way to a tired and haggard look, which his personal physician, Vice Admiral Ross...

No more letting industry help pay for developing medical guidelines. Restrictions on consulting deals. And no more pens with drug company names or other swag at conferences. These are part of a new ethics code that dozens of leading medical groups announced yesterday, aimed at limiting the influence that drug and device makers have over patient care. It is the most sweeping move ever taken by the Council of Medical Specialty Societies to curb conflict of interest — a growing concern as private industry bankrolls a greater share of medical research.

You’ve just started treatment with a new psychiatrist, whom you like very much. Should you “friend’’ her on Facebook? If she says yes, what if she finds those pictures of you dancing drunkenly with the lampshade on your head — after you told her you don’t drink anymore? Or what if you discover pictures of her snuggled up with her husband and two adorable kids, when the reason you went into therapy in the first place was that you’re sad about being single and childless?

WHITTIER, Calif. - How in the world does a woman with six children get a fertility doctor to help her have more - eight more? An ethical debate erupted yesterday after it was learned that the Southern California woman who gave birth to octuplets this week had six children already. Large multiple births "are presented on TV shows as a 'Brady Bunch' moment. They're not," fumed Arthur Caplan, bioethics chairman at the University of Pennsylvania. He noted the serious and sometimes lethal complications and crushing medical costs that often come with high-multiple births.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- When Governor Ernie Fletcher signed a death warrant for a convicted killer this month, he may have done more than start the clock ticking on an execution. Some say Fletcher, a doctor, may have put his medical license at risk. American Medical Association guidelines bar doctors from taking part, directly or indirectly, in executions. And Kentucky requires doctors to follow AMA ethical guidelines. "I think it's a clear violation," said Dr. Arthur Zitrin, an 86-year-old retired psychiatrist in New York and an...

LONDON -- Doctors working for the US military in Iraq collaborated with interrogators in the abuse of detainees at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison, profoundly breaching medical ethics and human rights, a bioethicist charges in The Lancet medical journal. In a scathing analysis of the behavior of military doctors, nurses, and medics, University of Minnesota professor Steven Miles calls for a reform of military medicine and an official investigation into the role played by physicians and other medical staff in the abuse scandal.

THE HAGUE -- The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal, led by the United Nations, told Dutch authorities yesterday to feed a hunger-striking Serb nationalist leader intravenously if it becomes necessary to save his life. However, a three-judge panel also said that moves to force-feed the leader, Vojislav Seselj, a suspect in war crimes, should be undertaken only "to the extent that such services are not contrary to compelling internationally accepted standards of medical ethics or binding rules of international law. " In a written "urgent order to the Dutch authorities," the judges said that...

Women's athletics have come a long way since girls were encouraged to skip gym class during their periods. For Amber Miller, that long way was exactly 26.2 miles at the Chicago marathon earlier this month, which she completed while nearly full-term pregnant. So near term, in fact, that contractions began during the race and she gave birth just hours after crossing the finish line. Headlines quickly asked, "Should pregnant women run marathons?" Much discussion followed on medical ethics and the limits of exercise during pregnancy.