Authors:Kristie Serota, Grace Bannerman, Rachel Hong, Daniel Z Buchman Pages: 62 - 75 Abstract: Alcohol-related liver disease (ARLD) is a common indication for liver transplantation yet it is considered ethically controversial in academic, clinical and public discourses. Various social groups consider people with ARLD as personally responsible for their condition and question whether they should have access to a scarce resource. How the news media constructs responsibility for ARLD may influence public opinions toward those who are ill as well as related healthcare policies. Since the organ transplantation system relies on the willingness of individuals to donate organs, understanding how the media portrays controversial issues is a matter of vital importance for public health and health policy. We investigated how responsibility for ARLD requiring liver transplantation is presented for public consumption in the news media. Using a keyword search of two online news databases, we selected 81 articles from the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. We analyzed the articles using a discursive psychological approach. We found that the news media ascribed responsibility for ARLD to three main actors: individuals with ARLD, biological predisposition, and policy and industry representatives. How responsibility for ARLD requiring liver transplantation is presented in the news media may have implications for people diagnosed with other substance-related disorders who present for transplant candidacy or are on the transplant waiting list. Investigating how responsibility for ARLD is constructed in news media may provide insights into how responsibility is understood in other stigmatized health conditions and its potential implications for population health equity. PubDate: 2020-11-16 Issue No:Vol. 3, No. 3 (2020)
Authors:Karim Zaouaq Pages: 128 - 133 Abstract: In an evolving global market of procreation, surrogacy is increasingly practiced and raises many ethical issues in terms of respect of the dignity of women, their bodily integrity and the consideration of the best interests and kinship of the unborn child. Faced with such ethical questions, the legal response in international law was tepid, while that of the States was fundamentally disparate, varying between systems of prohibition or legal framing of this practice and others that tolerate surrogacy but do not regulate it. This article seeks to analyze the different ethical issues raised by surrogacy, then focuses on the various legal trends prohibiting or totally or partially authorizing this practice, and studying the legal treatment reserved by international law to this question. PubDate: 2020-11-16 Issue No:Vol. 3, No. 3 (2020)
Authors:Christian Gates St-Pierre Pages: 137 - 140 Abstract: The decolonization of science and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples are leading archaeologists to adopt a new praxis that is more collaborative and more respectful of Indigenous issues, considerations and perspectives. Despite the generally positive consequences emanating from this type of project, tensions can arise between the stakeholders when their needs and objectives do not concur. The fictive case study presented here illustrates the complexity of such situations and the ethical dilemmas that can arise from them. PubDate: 2020-11-16 Issue No:Vol. 3, No. 3 (2020)
Authors:Marie-Alexia Catherine Masella, Antoine Boudreau-Leblanc Pages: 150 - 166 Abstract: This text is a review of a Bioethics Café in June 2019 that focused on the protection of genetic information and the ownership of such data, but also on the impact of genetic tests offered to the public. Topics such as privacy, the ownership of genetic information, its uses and the benefits and risks of genetic testing were addressed and treated from a variety of ethical perspectives. PubDate: 2020-11-16 Issue No:Vol. 3, No. 3 (2020)
Authors:Marie-Alexandra Gagné, Marie-Alexia Catherine Masella, Sihem Neila Abtroun, Antoine Boudreau LeBlanc Pages: 167 - 176 Abstract: This review summarizes the discussions held during the 3rd Bioethics Café in 2019, which focused on the theme: “The citizen as public health actor: challenges and opportunities”. Three panelists – Yan Kestens, Allison Marchildon and Karine Lefeuvre – enriched this meeting with their expertise in public health and ethics. This exchange highlighted the value of citizen participation in public health and the importance of nuancing its understanding and application. It is a priority to consider the relationships between the various stakeholders, the contextual factors that can affect this process and the ethical strategies that can be used to strengthen “good” citizen participation. This meeting was part of a series of Bioethics Cafés held in Montreal and Quebec City on the subject of ethics, health and data. PubDate: 2020-11-16 Issue No:Vol. 3, No. 3 (2020)
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