Ewing, Selena This paper is part of a larger body of research which was partly supported by a grant from the Mary Phillippa Brazill Foundation.

Giam, Patrick This article seeks to explore some further ethical and legal issues surrounding the practice of preimplantation genetic diagnosis which was the subject of a 2009 article for BRN. After briefly reviewing the state of regulation of PGD in Australia, focusing mainly on the national Guidelines developed by the National Health and Medical Research Council, I proceed to consider the ethical problems with PGD from the Catholic and natural law position that the embryo is a human person with inherent (...) dignity and the right to life, which forms the basis for revisiting the conclusions reached in my previous article on the proper response to the regulation of such technology. (shrink)

Pike, Gregory K Drug abuse has come into the public spotlight again as the Australia21 group recently released several documents arguing for an end to the prohibition of drugs like cannabis, heroin, cocaine, ecstasy and amphetamine. The arguments are not new, and those who advance them probably think it is only a matter of time before they achieve their goal.

Tonti-Fillipini, Nicholas We all have friends or family who are gay or lesbians. These are people we know and love and are a part of our families. The Rudd government's removal of laws that discriminated against them was most significant in ending inequality in the law. Now though we face something very different: the redefinition of marriage to exclude the words "a man and a woman" from what marriage means.

Alstin, Zac Conventional wisdom teaches that prohibition is counter-productive. We are all familiar with the idea that making something illegal - whether it be drug abuse, alcohol consumption, or abortion - merely 'drives it underground'. Abortion is indeed one of the most potent examples, with the spectre of 'backyard abortion' haunting any talk of restricting abortion access. On a global scale the term 'unsafe abortion' serves the same purpose - reinforcing the idea that unless abortion is made safe, legal, and (...) easy to access, women will resort to abortion practices that are intrinsically unsafe. (shrink)

Pfeiffer, Kimberley We've heard it happening more than once. A couple uses IVF to fall pregnant then later down the track they conceive naturally. Confusing, right? Aren't they supposed to be infertile? Isn't that why people request this invasive and expensive procedure in the first place? Well, a recent study shows that more than 40% of women aged between 28 and 36 years that report having a history of infertility achieved subsequent births without using any form of reproductive assistance1. Which (...) raises the question, what does it mean to be infertile? (shrink)

Somerville, Margaret Same-sex marriage creates a clash between upholding the human rights of children with respect to their coming-into being and the family structure in which they will be reared, and the claims of homosexual adults who wish to marry a same-sex partner. It forces us, as a society, to choose whether to give priority to children's rights or to homosexual adults' claims. This problem does not arise with opposite-sex marriage, because children's rights and adult's claims with respect to marriage (...) are consistent with each other. (shrink)

Somerville, Margaret Same-sex marriage creates a clash between upholding the human rights of children with respect to their coming-into being and the family structure in which they will be reared, and the claims of homosexual adults who wish to marry a same-sex partner. It forces us, as a society, to choose whether to give priority to children's rights or to homosexual adults' claims. This problem does not arise with opposite-sex marriage, because children's rights and adult's claims with respect to marriage (...) are consistent with each other. (shrink)

Alstin, Zac Do you know the term realpolitik? It' German for realistic or practical politics, and implies a view of political life in which ideals and ethics are subordinate to practical goals. Readers may be surprised to learn that there was ever a time when politics was not self-evidently the pursuit of practical goals without regard to ideals or ethics. 'olitics'alone is now sufficient to invoke bastardry, deceit, and terrifying acts of pragmatism, in the minds of many.

Campbell, Ray This paper is an abbreviated version of a paper given at the National Colloquium for Catholic Bioethicists, Melbourne, 2012. That paper in turn was an abbreviated version of part of my doctoral thesis, The Human Act and Moral Responsibility, John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family, Melbourne, 2011. The larger works give more of the context for this discussion and more examples.

Riordan, Marcia Recent advances in genetic technology may mean that the brave new world really is almost here. Non-invasive prenatal genetic diagnosis could finally allow hundreds of thousands of genetic traits to be determined with just one maternal blood test. This could bring genetic screening of the unborn child to a whole new level and mean that as a society we face a new set of challenges in areas such as disability rights, abortion and informed consent.

Tieu, Matthew As a contemporary academic discipline bioethics is a specialised though multidisciplinary field of study. It is the study of the ethical issues that arise from the biological and medical sciences, as well as clinical practice. It deals with important issues such as abortion, human embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia and reproductive technology, genetic modification, animal welfare, nanotechnology and neuroethics. The "Encyclopedia of Bioethics" defines bioethics as "the systematic study of the moral dimensions -including moral vision, decisions, conduct and (...) policies -of the life sciences and health care, employing a variety of ethical methodologies in an interdisciplinary setting". Bioethics is a branch or sub-discipline of what is referred to as "applied ethics". As such, it also draws upon those disciplines that address the nature of ethics, i.e. philosophy, psychology and religion. Bioethics as an academic discipline therefore involves both the natural sciences and the humanities. (shrink)