About Anna Gotlib

Associate Professor Philosophy Department Brooklyn College CUNY

Breaking Bioethics

(Warning for those who have not yet seen Breaking Bad’s conclusion:  this contains SPOILERS!) Now that Breaking Bad has reached its tragic end, we can focus with more perspective on some of the aspects of the show that have been … Continue reading

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Just Because It’s Monday: Two Stories That Will Not Make Your Day

If you are looking to be inspired or uplifted by today’s post….Well, let’s just say these two stories might not be what you are seeking.  Instead of offering an analysis, I will just say this: With respect to the twenty-six … Continue reading

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“They all wanted it done”: Eugenics — Now Showing In A State Prison Near You!

In 1924, Adolph Hitler wrote the following words: I have studied with great interest the laws of several American states concerning prevention of reproduction by people whose progeny would in all probability be of no value or injurious to the racial stock. … Continue reading

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The Luck of the Draw: The Fiscal and Moral Confusion of American Hospitals

The fact that Americans, without any increases in quality or quantity of services, pay much more for medical care than anyone in “peer” nations (and elsewhere) is something that is, outside of certain sociopolitical circles,  no longer up for debate. … Continue reading

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Public Health, Kansas Style, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love HB 2183

The proposed rewording and amendment of Kansas House Bill 2183, which, having passed the Kansas Senate, is now making its way through the state legislature, is sounding alarms in the HIV/AIDS communities — and with good reason.  Although originally intended to assist first responders who might, by virtue of their work, be potentially at risk of contracting HIV, the bill, as amended by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, now effectuates sweeping deregulations of the criteria and methodologies for the determination of the need for isolation and quarantine by bringing all infectious diseases under a single statute.  Moreover, HB 2183 invalidates a state law from 1988, explicitly banning the quarantining of individuals diagnosed with AIDS.  This broadening of the state powers to isolate leaves wide open the possibility that individuals with HIV/AIDS could be quarantined without consent or right to appeal.  While the Republican-controlled Kansas state legislature has denied this charge, and has, in fact, promised that the state power to quarantine will not be used against individuals with HIV or AIDS, they have nevertheless defeated a Democratic push, led by Senator Marci Francisco, to specifically exclude those with HIV/AIDS from the isolation/quarantine provisions on the grounds that HIV/AIDS is not spread via casual contact…

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