Coming Together for Better Pain Treatment
Pain is undertreated. That’s why the American Academy of Family Physicians has convened a unique group of medical organizations, including the Center for Practical Bioethics, to develop and promote a series of five programs for primary care providers across the country to promote better pain management.  More

Introducing: the Rosemary Flanigan Chair at the Center for Practical Bioethics
“This is a position for which I did not apply,” Dr. Rosell said, a program associate at the Center since 2004. “In fact, I was actively recruiting other people.” Then one day in December 2008, Myra Christopher, Center president and CEO, walked into his office, shut the door and told Dr. Rosell that the Center board had voted to appoint him the first holder of the Rosemary Flanigan Chair.  More

Center warns of unintended consequences of proposed FDA pain policy
The Center for Practical Bioethics is concerned, like many others, about the dramatic increase in the misuse of prescription drugs. At the same time, the Center is asking the Food and Drug Administration for a balanced approach in developing strategies to curb misuse of opioid painkillers. That’s according to a statement delivered by John Carney, vice president for aging and end of life at the Center for Practical Bioethics, during an FDA public hearing to consider a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) for the use of opioids.  More

The Ethics of Pain: Unintended Consequences and Vulnerable Populations
We know opioids are powerful drugs. We know we need action, but the action needs to be balanced, and should follow deliberate and thoughtful consideration from both sides of the issue. Data and evidence should inform the policy and if that means pilot studies before policy adoption, then invest in them. If we don’t, we will all get shortchanged because the consequences will harm us far worse than the medicines we seek to manage.  More

John Lantos to Head New Pediatric Bioethics Center at Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics
The new Children’s Mercy Bioethics Center will focus on issues related to clinical care of children and medical research in pediatrics. The center will develop educational programs for hospital staff and the community and will become a national center of excellence for pediatric bioethics.  More

Center for Practical Bioethics Announces Creation of the Kathleen M. Foley Chair for Pain and Palliative Care
New endowment creates platform to advance national dialogue on urgent pain and palliative care issues.  More

A Quarter Century of Practical Bioethics
It began as a vision a quarter century ago. With medical technology accelerating rapidly, a healthcare attorney, a physician and a philosopher envisioned a place to consider the ethical implications of using this technology. That vision became reality 25 years ago. Today, the Center for Practical Bioethics helps thousands of people and professionals find common ground on complex issues in healthcare.  More

Cases that haunt clinical ethicists
Organ donations have a shadow side. Just ask Tarris Rosell, DMin, PhD, a program associate at the Center for Practical Bioethics. Dr. Rosell wrote about one such case in "Complex Ethics Consultations: Cases that Haunt Us," published by Cambridge University Press.  More

Moral Dilemmas in Treating Babies Born at the Borderline of Viability
Some babies born after just five months of pregnancy - as early as 22 weeks of gestation – can now survive. Their chances for survival depend upon where they are born. A commentary in the February issue of Pediatrics, co-authored by Dr. John Lantos of the Center for Practical Bioethics,examines that issue and its implications.  More

New Bioethics Textbook Provides Practical Guide for Ethical Dilemmas
Dr. John Lantos edited and wrote introduction for the "Cambridge Textbook of Bioethics." "This book will be useful to anyone interested in up-to-date discussions of current bioethical controversies," says Dr. Lantos.  More