Blazing the Trail of Non-Invasive Prenatal Screening Expanded Use: Healthcare Providers' Perspectives.

Objective: Advancements in non-invasive prenatal screening (NIPS) could significantly alter prenatal screening by expanding the range of genetic conditions screened. This study aims to explore the perspectives of healthcare professionals (HCP) on the expanded use of NIPS and explore specifications for the inclusion of genetic conditions.

Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with Canadian HCPs who counsel pregnant individuals about NIPS.

Religion Welcome Here: A Pluriversal Approach to Religion and Global Bioethics.

This paper sets forth and defends a pluriversal approach to religion in the context of an increasingly global bioethics. Section I introduces a pluriversal view as a normative technique for engaging across difference. A normative pluriversal approach sets five constraints: civility, change from within, justice, non-domination, and tolerance.

Addressing ethical issues in healthcare artificial intelligence using a lifecycle-informed process.

Objectives: Artificial intelligence (AI) proceeds through an iterative and evaluative process of development, use, and refinement which may be characterized as a lifecycle. Within this context, stakeholders can vary in their interests and perceptions of the ethical issues associated with this rapidly evolving technology in ways that can fail to identify and avert adverse outcomes. Identifying issues throughout the AI lifecycle in a systematic manner can facilitate better-informed ethical deliberation.

Defining ethical criteria to guide the expanded use of Noninvasive Prenatal Screening (NIPS): Lessons about severity from preimplantation genetic testing.

We hypothesized that ethical criteria that guide the use of preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) could be used to inform policies about expanded use of non-invasive prenatal screening (NIPS). We used a systematic review of reasons approach to assess ethical criteria used to justify using (or not using) PGT for genetic conditions. Out of 1135 identified documents, we retained and analyzed 216 relevant documents.

Mapping Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) of gamete donation.

Research Question: This scoping review investigates the Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) of gamete donation, a critical facet of Assisted Reproductive Technologies, by analyzing the evolving research scope, methodological approaches, and the geographical skew in the literature. Despite the increased global uptake of donor gametes, current scholarship predominantly emanates from Western contexts and focuses on majoritized groups. This bias constrains the universality of research findings and limits their applicability across varied legal, cultural, and social contexts, underscoring a need for broader inclusivity.

Mapping ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of fertility preservation.

Research Question: The study examines the ethical, legal, and social implications of fertility preservation, highlighting its importance across oncofertility, elective egg freezing, and posthumous assisted reproduction, as well as its impact on transgender individuals undergoing gender-affirming surgeries.

Design: A comprehensive analysis of 600 articles, focusing on a diverse range of disciplines, including bioethics, psychology, and sociology, to explore public and healthcare professionals' knowledge, patient experiences, and regulatory constraints.

Results: The body of literature is growing, indicating increasing recognition of FP's significance.

Unpacking the notion of "serious" genetic conditions: towards implementation in reproductive decision-making?

The notion of a "serious" genetic condition is commonly used in clinical contexts, laws, and policies to define and delineate both the permissibility of and, access to, reproductive genomic technologies. Yet, the notion lacks conceptual and operational clarity, which can lead to its inconsistent appraisal and application. A common understanding of the relevant considerations of "serious" is lacking.

War, Bioethics, and Public Health.

This paper argues that bioethics as a field should broaden its scope to include the ethics of war, focusing on war's public health effects. The "Introduction" section describes the bioethics literature on war, which emphasizes clinical and research topics while omitting public health. The section, "War as a public health crisis" demonstrates the need for a public health ethics approach by framing war as a public health crisis.

Cell Maps for Artificial Intelligence: AI-Ready Maps of Human Cell Architecture from Disease-Relevant Cell Lines.

This article describes the Cell Maps for Artificial Intelligence (CM4AI) project and its goals, methods, standards, current datasets, software tools , status, and future directions. CM4AI is the in the U.S.

Pandemics, intellectual property and 'our economy': A worldview analysis of Canada's role in compromising global access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Despite self-congratulatory rhetoric, Canada compromised COVID-19 vaccine equity with policies impeding a proposed global waiver of vaccine intellectual property (IP) rules. To learn from Canada's vaccine nationalism we explore the - a coherent textual picture of the world - in a sample of Government of Canada communications regarding global COVID-19 vaccine sharing. Analysed documents portray risks and disparities as unrelated to the dynamics and power relations of the Canadian and international economies.

AI and the falling sky: interrogating X-Risk.

This paper argues that the headline-grabbing nature of existential risk (X-Risk) diverts attention away from immediate artificial intelligence (AI) threats, including fairly disseminating AI risks and benefits and justly transitioning towards AI-centred societies. Section I introduces a working definition of X-Risk, considers its likelihood and explores possible subtexts. It highlights conflicts of interest that arise when tech luminaries lead ethics debates in the public square.

A Mixed-Methods Study Exploring Colombian Adolescents' Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services: The Need for a Relational Autonomy Approach.

This study's objective was to understand Colombian adolescents' experiences and preferences regarding access to sexual and reproductive health services (SRHS), either alone or accompanied. A mixed-method approach was used, involving a survey of 812 participants aged eleven to twenty-four years old and forty-five semi-structured interviews with participants aged fourteen to twenty-three. Previous research shows that adolescents prefer privacy when accessing SRHS and often do not want their parents involved.

Mapping ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of preimplantation genetic testing (PGT).

Purpose: Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT) has attracted considerable ethical, legal, and social scrutiny, but academic debate often fails to reflect clinical realities.

Methods: Addressing this disconnect, a review of 506 articles from 1999 to 2019 across humanities and social sciences was conducted to synthesize the Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) of PGT. This review mined PubMed, WoS, and Scopus databases, using both MeSH terms and keywords to map out the research terrain.

Ethical, legal, social, and policy issues of ovarian tissue cryopreservation in prepubertal girls: a critical interpretive review.

Purpose: Despite the increasing number of childhood cancer survivors, significant advances in ovarian tissue cryopreservation (OTC) technique and medical societies' recommendations, fertility preservation (FP) and FP discussions are not always offered as a standard of care in the pediatric context. The aim of this literature review is to understand what ethical, legal, social, and policy issues may influence the provision of FP by OTC in prepubertal girls with cancer.

Methods: A critical interpretive review of peer-reviewed papers published between 2000 and January 2023 was conducted, guided by the McDougall's version of the critical interpretive synthesis (Dixon-Woods), to capture recurring concepts, principles, and arguments regarding FP by OTC for prepubertal girls.

Ontario Bill for Quality Prenatal Information about Down Syndrome: Terminology, Feasibility, and Ethical Issues.

Harvey and Gurvir's Law is a bill proposed to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario (Canada) to reduce stigma and bias associated with Down syndrome, by developing and disseminating quality information about Down syndrome in the context of prenatal testing.

The misplaced embryo: legal parenthood in 'embryo mix-up' cases.

Recently in Israel, a woman was mistakenly implanted with an embryo that is genetically related to another couple. Unfortunately, this case is not an isolated occurrence, as other cases of embryo mix-ups have been reported in several countries, including the USA, China, the UK and various other countries within the European Union. Cases of mixed-up embryos are ethically and legally complex: the woman who carried the pregnancy and the woman who is genetically related to the resulting child-both of whom endured emotionally and physically demanding infertility treatments-along with their partners, may be unwilling to relinquish parental rights over the child.

A Path Forward-and Outward: Repositioning Bioethics to Face Future Challenges.

This essay explores what the future may hold for bioethics if it continues its evolution toward a field that embraces systemic, collective-level challenges; has a global scale and focus; emphasizes human flourishing; and seeks to have increased societal impact. As The Hastings Center considers strategic priorities for its research, public engagement, and impact, this essay reflects on where we have been and where we are going. It offers an expansive and inclusive vision for the future of bioethics, in order to invite an open and wide-ranging conversation about the future of our field and the role that The Hastings Center can and should play within it.