Womb, womanhood and medical ethics: concern about rising hysterectomy cases in India

Medical ethics education in India.

Since the late 1950s there has been an explosion in the field of bioethics. Gone are the days when problems were resolved by emulating seniors in the profession. Writing in The National Medical Journal of India, Dr SK Pandya laments that today “unfortunately the number of role models in the medical colleges is diminishing as unethical practices flourish and this adds to the frustration of stude...

Science , ethics and public concern about animal welfare

Rising concern over cosmetic tattoos.

BACKGROUND A rise in popularity of cosmetic tattoos has led to an increase in adverse reactions. Due to more pressing concerns, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not traditionally enforced its authority over tattoo inks. OBJECTIVE To raise awareness of the dangers of cosmetic tattoos. MATERIALS AND METHODS We reviewed FDA policies regarding tattoo ink, different ink components, adv...

Medical ethics in India: ancient and modern (II).

With the comin g of the Europeans, and especially during the colonial rule, imitation of what the rulers did and practised became more and more popular. But, there was also resistance to this wholesale copying of the foreigners’ practices. ‘Reverence for the past is a national trait. There is a certain doggedness of temperament, a stubborn loyalty to lose nothing in the long march of the ages. ...

Invasive Species in Agriculture: a Rising Concern

Invasive species are not new phenomena in U.S. agriculture, as illustrated by these 1920s lyrics from the Boll Weevil folksong. The boll weevil entered the United States via Mexico in the 1890s, and by the 1920s, this pest had spread to all cotton producing states, wiping out tens of thousands of acres of cotton, costing billions of dollars, and literally driving thousands of farmers off the la...