medical ethics
GUEST COMMENTARY: Learning from (dis)ability
(RNS) The good news is that some churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples are already welcoming people with disabilities and preparing for the coming influx of wounded vets and creaky boomers. The bad news is that some congregations still resist making themselves welcoming, accessible and inclusive. By Mark Pinksy.
Conservatives line up against sperm donors, but lack the power to ban them
WASHINGTON (RNS) Social conservatives say its unfair to allow children conceived through egg or sperm donors not to know their parents. They also know they're unlikely to be able to ban the practice. Like opposition to divorce or gay adoption, it leaves them with a dilemma: opposing something without the ability to ban it. By Chris Lisee.
Forced abortion in China prompts outrage, calls for reform
BEIJING (RNS) A pregnant woman who was dragged to a hospital by authorities and forced to have an abortion has enraged Chinese and sparked an online flurry of debate over whether it is time to end China's draconian one-child family planning policy. By Calum MacLeod.
Vatican newspaper says Nazi eugenics ‘still alive’
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Proponents of euthanasia and fetus selection still use the same arguments used by the authors of a key text for Nazi extermination program, the Vatican's semiofficial newspaper said. By Alessandro Speciale.
‘Dr. Schnoz’ drops plans for another video poking fun at Jewish noses
(RNS) The Jewish doctor from Miami who was scolded by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons for producing a music video that mocked Jewish noses has canceled a contest for another music video.
Vet hears God’s call in providing artificial limbs
NASHVILLE (RNS) In 2003, Allan Doyle was in Saddam Hussein's palace when a stone wall crushed his left leg. Doctor's had no choice but to amputate it below the knee. Now, Doyle has rediscovered his faith and found a new calling as a prosthetist -- a medical professional who fits amputees with new limbs. By Bob Smietana.
Jewish plastic surgeon in trouble over ‘Jewcan Sam’ video
(RNS) A plastic surgeon in Miami who's also an Orthodox Jew is in trouble after commissioning an Orthodox Jewish band to do a music video about rhinoplasty called "Jewcan Sam" which has gone viral on YouTube. By Lauren Markoe.
Company touts ‘medical tourism’ to Israel for sick pilgrims
JERUSALEM (RNS) An Israel-based tourism company is offering "medical tourism" packages that combines medical care with a pilgrimage for the thousands of Americans who travel abroad for medical care. By Michele Chabin.
From the RNS archives: Catholic birth control decree remains controversial
British group can’t tout divine healing in ads, website
LONDON (RNS) Britain's powerful media advertising watchdog has banned a Christian activist group from claiming that God's cure-all powers can heal a string of medical ailments. By Al Webb.
MondayâÂ?Â?s Religion Roundup: Embryo skirmishes, birth control battles, Star Wars theology
Newt Gingrich wants a ban on embryonic stem cell research, Romney doesn't. Santorum's daughter makes "miraculous" recovery, he looks for political miracle in Florida. Obama, birth control, and the Catholic vote. Andrew Sullivan's fan in the Vatican. And more...