Election Results Signal Shift In Bioethics Debate, Opinion Piece Says
Medical News Today reports:
Tuesday’s election will be remembered for its “impact on core bioethical topics that have long dominated American domestic politics,” including abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research, Arthur Caplan — director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania — writes in an MSNBC.com opinion piece. According to Caplan, the failure of state ballot initiatives that aimed to restrict abortion rights signals that the abortion debate may be subsiding, “while newer bioethical concerns that are likely to dominate American politics for years to come, including physician-assisted suicide,” are emerging. In addition, the election of President-elect Barack Obama “has brought the fight over embryonic stem cell research in the U.S. to an end,” because Obama has pledged to lift federal restrictions on the research, Caplan says.