A Dilemma in Ethics - The Trolley Problem
The Trolley Problem was firstly introduced by Philippa Foot in 1967. A trolley is facing a track with one man tied to the track and the only action he can take to avoid killing the man is to divert the trolley to another track which has five men tied to the track. This is a classical dilemma in ethics which serves the purpose to inspire your thinking and debate. The dilemma is you would choose one dead or five dead. We are forced to use an utilitarian view in this case becaus
Animal Welfare - Mouldy Bread Error and Dry Frog Error
Nowadays, even animals have welfare to look after not to mention about humans. Mouldy Bread Error Scientists did not have an assay for mould-derived toxins, so they measure the various nutrients in the bread and create a 'bread quality index' and showed that mouldy bread is equal in quality to freshly baked bread. It implies that when scientists attempt to assess animal welfare, they need to ensure that their scientific measures reflect the socially constructed meaning of the
R v North Derbyshire Health Authority [1997] (Queen's Bench Division)
Kenneth Graeme Fisher suffered from relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis and lived in the area of the respondent health authority. The hospitals refused to treat the applicant with a new drug, beta-interferon, due to its cost. The respondent authority claimed that the funding for beta-interferon will only be considered in randomised controlled trial (RCT). In November 1996, the applicant was informed that the authority would not consider the treatment in his case. A judicia
The Legal and Ethical Grounds for Promotion of the End of Life Issue in HKSAR
The Legitimacy of Promotion of Advance Directive and Voluntary Active Euthanasia in HKSAR 在香港特别行政区推广预设医疗指示及自愿主动安乐死的合法性 Advance Directive is recommended by the Hong Kong Law Reform Commission in 2006 to be promoted through non-legislative means. There is no formal legislation on the relevant laws in Hong Kong. Therefore, its promotion is NOT against any Hong Kong Laws. 香港法律改革委员会在2006年通过並推荐以非立法手段推广预设医疗指示。而香港现时並无相关的正规立法。因此,它的推广并不违反任何香港法律。 Dr. Kwok-Hay Kwong v The Medical Council
X v Y [1988]
In UK, two practicing physicians infected with AIDs. An order was obtained restraining the newspaper from publishing the information. However, the newspaper published the information without naming the doctors. An injunction was sought to prevent the publishing of the doctors' names and to compel disclosure of the newspaper's source. Judgment was sought to rule the article in contempt of the earlier order. It is held that the public interest in preserving confidentiality of h
Campbell v Mirror Group Newspaper Ltd [2004]
The supermodel Naomi Campbell sued the Mirror Group for breach of confidence engaging section 6 of the Human Rights Act, which required the court to operate compatibility with European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) (photographed her leaving a rehabilitation clinic). Judgment: Mirror Group was liable. It was held that Campbell's right to privacy (ECHR, Sch 1, Part I, Art 8) outweighed Mirror Group's right to freedom of expression. 超模娜奥米金宝控告英国镜报侵犯她的个人保密权,违反人权法第六条,要求法院遵从欧洲人权
Gillick v West Norfolk and Wisbech Area Health Authority [1987]
Victoria Gillick ran an active campaign against the hospital policy of prescribing contraceptive to a girl under 16 because the doctor would commit an offence of encouraging sex with a minor and it would be treatment without parental consent. The House of Lords of England: Lord Scarman agreed the 'Gillick Competency'. He stated that as a matter of Law the parental right to determine whether or not their minor child below the age of 16 will have medical treatment terminates if
The Downfall of Dr. Paolo Macchiarini
There are multiple aspects to the high-profile case of Dr. Paolo Macchiarini, who developed and implanted synthetic trachea in patients, many of whom subsequently died. Dr. Paolo Macchiarini (1) was previously considered a pioneer in regenerative medicine using trachea implant seeded from patients’ stem cell for transplantation. He was a visiting professor at Karolinska Institute in Sweden from 2010. He is famous for his professional misconduct of unethically performing exper

Regulation of Vaginal Mesh as a Medical Device
On 16 August 2017 The Guardian argued that: “the approval process for medical devices is poorly regulated in comparision to drugs: no large-scale, randomized controlled trials are required, and products can be introduced to the market rapidly – while complications may emerge only months or years later. It is time to consider a tighter regime. In the meantime, requiring long-term follow up studies to identify problems down the line could save patients suffering, without in any