Curious Bioethics: May 29-June 4, 2023
Pride, Organizational betrayal, Sackler settlement, LGBTQ coffee table book, AI & Misinformation
Hey there, Curious Human!
Happy Pride Month!
Welcome to June 2023 - this year’s Pride Month, celebrating and affirming LGBTQIA life and joy may be a tough one. 530 anti-trans and anti-queer bills have been proposed this year in the United States. Violence against
In today’s curated collection, you’ll find:
Bioethics in the News: Elon Musk’s anti-Pride lobbying, the ACOG Slap, the Sacklers get immunity
What I’m Reading: We Are Everywhere
Educational Opportunities: Beyond COVID, ChatGPT, and Trans Bioethics
Bioethics in the News
Elon Musk Calls to Imprison Medical Professionals Who Help Trans Kids
Elon Musk vows to lobby against access to gender-affirming care. He also supports criminalizing and imprisoning doctors who provide trans care. Additionally, he shared the transphobic propaganda film “What is a Woman” on June 2nd, the second day of Pride Month.
Video of ACOG Presenter Being Slapped Goes Viral
Audience member alleged panelist assaulted his wife years ago
A shocking video from the recent American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists opens in a new tab or window (ACOG) annual meeting is making the rounds on Twitter opens in a new tab or window. In it, an audience member grabs the shirt of a panelist and slaps him.
"This [expletive] sexually assaulted my wife 7 years ago," the audience member alleged right before slapping the panelist. "You know what you did. You touched my wife 7 years ago in New York."
This slap didn’t emerge in a vacuum. No matter what we ultimately find out about the allegations against Dr. Burke’s behavior, academic medicine is long overdue for a reckoning from its long-standing unethical protection of powerful men over, well, everyone else.
Organizational betrayal is a real slap in the face.
After Making Billions from OxyContin, the Sackler Family Shielded from Future Lawsuits
In a landmark ruling Tuesday, a federal appeals court in New York cleared the way for a bankruptcy deal for opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma.
The deal will shield members of the Sackler family, who own the company, from future lawsuits.
~NPR
As part of the bankruptcy settlement, the Sacklers will pay between $5-6 billion and give up control of Perdue Pharma. Roughly $750 million will go to people who became addicted to OxyContin and to families of those who died from overdoses. The 2nd Circuit ruling overturns a lower court’s December 2021 ruling.
The Sackler settlement reminds me of Big Tobacco’s “global settlement” and subsequent 1998 Master Settlement. Some aspects of tobacco control were effective, but overall, there were many missed opportunities to advance federal tobacco regulation.
What I’m Reading This Week
We Are Everywhere
Protest, Power, and Pride in the History of Queer Liberation
This book is stunning, it’s gorgeous, it’s heavy (literally), and it’s perfect. It’s Proud. We Are Everywhere will deepen your knowledge about LGBTQIA history through curated photographs and stories from the late nineteenth century to today.
Educational Opportunities
Beyond COVID
The Broader Reach of Bioethics Research from the Pandemic
When: Thursday, June 15, at 12:00pm ET (9am PT)
Where: Online, Public Event
Speakers Include:
Brendan Saloner, PhD, led Rationing Behind Bars: Resource Allocation in Jails and Prisons During COVID-19.
Jason L. Schwartz, PhD, led Evidence and Uncertainty in COVID-19 Vaccination Policy-Making.
Seema K. Shah, JD, led Ethics in the Interim: Learning from the COVID-19 Pandemic to Develop Ethical Guidance for Data and Safety Monitoring Committees Overseeing Clinical Trials.
ChatGPT, Knowledge, and Misinformation
Technology and Its Many Impacts on Health, Wellness, and Society
Technological advancements greatly impact health and the social determinants of health. AI ethicist and criminologist Renée Cummings and researcher Michael Scroggins will discuss AI and other technologies that are changing the landscape of society, health, wellness, and scientific research. Voices in Bioethics Editor-in-Chief Anne Zimmerman will moderate the discussion.
When: June 21, 2023, 12–1 pm EDT (9-10 am PT)
Where: Online, Public Event
Trans Bioethics in a Moral Panic
Back in April, I recommended this ASBH Webinar: Trans Bioethics in a Moral Panic. In case you missed it, here’s a link to the recording. ⤵️
That’s it!
As always, thanks for being curious!
Hit reply and let me know what ethics issues you are most curious about this week—I’d love to hear from you!
See you next week!
Be Well & Be Curious,
Alyssa
