Just in time to coincide with National Healthcare Decisions Day, AJOB’s April issue is now online featuring an editorial and a target article discussing advance directives and patient decision-making.
The issue begins with the historical perspective of Myra Christopher, CEO of the Center for Practical Bioethics, who discusses how far we have (and have not) come in terms of advancing end-of-live care and patient decision making since the 1970s. In her essay, “It’s Not Optional“, she talks about the existing gap between those who those who know what they want in terms of end-of-life decision making but who still, for whatever, reason lack an advance directive or any kind of advance care planning.
In this same issue, Michael Green and Benjamin Levi take on the issue of advance care planning by asking whether there is a better, more innovative, high-tech way of educating the public about end-of life issues. Their answer: of course, there is.
AJOB’s April issue also features a Target Article by Kerstein and Bognar that takes on Emanuel et al and their position on allocating scarce health resources, aka “rationing”. Persad and Emanuel respond as do a number of others.
Lastly, Ruiping Fan proposes a Confucian view of genetic enhancement and a number of Rawlsian and other scholars respond.
This has proven to be one of the more provocative AJOB’s in recent months (and not just because of its cover!). So take a look at bioethics.net.
Summer Johnson, PhD