Medical Ethics

They injected chemicals into the eyes of children, hoping to find ways to turn brown eyes blue. They sought new sterilization methods by subjecting men's genitals to high doses of radiation. They extracted organs from living women for study under the microscope. Although most Americans associate these sorts of medical atrocities with the infamous Joseph Mengele, scores if not hundreds of other physicians and researchers flocked to serve the Nazis' perverted scientific beliefs. Many were tried and ultimately punished.

Edmund L. Erde of Cherry Hill is probably one of the few people in the country who can use the phrase "philosophically speaking" and mean it. Erde, who teaches medical ethics at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and consults at Kennedy Memorial Hospitals, has a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Cornell University, a master's in philosophy from Brooklyn College and a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Texas...

Bruce Diamond, a Georgia pharmacologist, went from a lavish lifestyle as a respected drug researcher to strip searches, lousy food, sleep deprivation, and menial work as an imprisoned felon. Yesterday, he shared with colleagues the big reason they should not violate medical ethics and laws. "To prevent what happened to me from happening to you," the scientist told the annual meeting of the Association of Clinical Research Professionals, at the Convention Center. The association, with 17,000 members worldwide, aims to promote ethical practices in the testing of experimental drugs and treatments on humans.

Physician Budd B. Axelrod, 86, who maintained a North Philadelphia family medical practice for 50 years, died Tuesday, May 21, of Parkinson's disease at Virtua Voorhees Hospital. Dr. Axelrod resided in the independent-living section of Lions Gate, the retirement community in Voorhees. From 1953 to 2003, Dr. Axelrod ran his office in the 600 block of East Girard Avenue, near what is now the Girard Medical Center, his wife, Jeanette, said in a phone interview. For a time, she said, he was president of the medical staff at St. Mary's Hospital at Frankford Avenue and Palmer Street, which closed in 1988 and is now an apartment complex for low-income seniors.

Role in executions violates doctors' oath Re: the article by Robert Moran and Kaitlin Gurney ("N.J. court suspends executions," Feb. 21). Appellate Judge Sylvia B. Pressler's granting a moratorium on executions by lethal injection holds that the New Jersey Department of Corrections does not have sufficient medical expertise to carry out executions by this method. It will never be possible for the department to have executioners of sufficient expertise, because physician participation in executions is a violation of medical ethics.

The pastoral transition at one of the city's most venerable black churches, Bright Hope Baptist in North Philadelphia, was thrown into question this week by revelations that the newly named leader does not have the academic credentials attributed to him. Cean James, 31, a charismatic, can-do minister known in the city for his work on behalf of youth, was elected Sunday to succeed former U.S. Rep. William H. Gray 3d as pastor of the 2,500-member congregation....

Arthur Caplan, a nationally known medical ethicist, is leaving Philadelphia to head a new medical ethics division at New York University's Langone Medical Center. Caplan, who has worked at the University of Pennsylvania medical school since 1994, said Saturday he would start work July 1 at NYU. He will serve as director of the new Division of Medical Ethics in the Department of Population Health. "I built what I wanted here," said Caplan, who until January was director of the Center for Bioethics at Penn.

It is a case that challenges myriad legal precepts and medical ethics - what to do when a doctor has AIDS? From one perspective, disclosure is an incredible violation of a physician's right to keep his medical condition private. From the other perspective, disclosure is necessary to protect the doctor's patients from potential infection. "Can they be reconciled in this case?" Mercer County Superior Court Judge Philip S. Carchman mused yesterday. "Isn't that what this case is all about?"

The Rev. Charles J. McFadden, 80, a gentle, practical philosophy professor who taught at Villanova University for 40 years, died Tuesday at Bryn Mawr Hospital. He had lived for the last 50 years at St. Thomas of Villanova monastery. Father McFadden, a member of the Augustinian order of priests and brothers, was "a kind of Mr. Chips in the classroom," said the Rev. Francis X. McGuire, retired president of Villanova and a longtime friend of Father McFadden's. He was "a scholar and gentleman," said Father McGuire, who was president of the university from 1944 to 1954.

By Arthur Caplan Think your doctor is telling you the truth? According to a survey recently published in the journal Health Affairs, he may well not be. The study found that one in 10 doctors has lied to at least one patient in the past year. Twenty percent of the 2,000 doctors surveyed admitted they had not told patients the truth about an error. Ten percent said they had failed to disclose financial conflicts of interest. And 15 percent said they had painted a rosier picture of a patient's prognosis than they knew to be true.

Physician Budd B. Axelrod, 86, who maintained a North Philadelphia family medical practice for 50 years, died Tuesday, May 21, of Parkinson's disease at Virtua Voorhees Hospital. Dr. Axelrod resided in the independent-living section of Lions Gate, the retirement community in Voorhees. From 1953 to 2003, Dr. Axelrod ran his office in the 600 block of East Girard Avenue, near what is now the Girard Medical Center, his wife, Jeanette, said in a phone interview. For a time, she said, he was president of the medical staff at St. Mary's Hospital at Frankford Avenue and Palmer Street, which closed in 1988 and is now an apartment complex for low-income seniors.

Sometimes the absurdities of an official policy or action are so clear that they need not be elucidated. Such is the case with the Obama administration's maintenance of the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. Last week, President Obama told reporters that he intends to once again press Congress to close the facility, as he had promised to do in his first campaign. But there is no indication that the president intends to devote any of his remaining political capital to the task - any more than he did during his first term.

NEW ORLEANS - The NFL is about to take another significant step toward better in-game diagnosis of concussions. Jeff Pash, the league's general counsel, said at a news conference Thursday the league will have independent neurological consultants on the sideline during games starting next season. This season, the league put a certified trainer up in the booth during games to help with concussion diagnosis. It also installed replay monitors on the sideline for use by team training and medical staffs to review injuries.

Arthur Caplan, a nationally known medical ethicist, is leaving Philadelphia to head a new medical ethics division at New York University's Langone Medical Center. Caplan, who has worked at the University of Pennsylvania medical school since 1994, said Saturday he would start work July 1 at NYU. He will serve as director of the new Division of Medical Ethics in the Department of Population Health. "I built what I wanted here," said Caplan, who until January was director of the Center for Bioethics at Penn.

By Arthur Caplan Think your doctor is telling you the truth? According to a survey recently published in the journal Health Affairs, he may well not be. The study found that one in 10 doctors has lied to at least one patient in the past year. Twenty percent of the 2,000 doctors surveyed admitted they had not told patients the truth about an error. Ten percent said they had failed to disclose financial conflicts of interest. And 15 percent said they had painted a rosier picture of a patient's prognosis than they knew to be true.

Ezekiel J. Emanuel, a well known bioethicist who has worked at the National Institutes of Health and served as a special adviser for health policy to the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget between February 2009 and January 2011, will join the University of Pennsylvania faculty on Sept. 1. Emanuel will have a slew of titles. Among them:  Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University professor, vice provost for global initiatives and chair of the new department of Medical Ethics & Health Policy in the Perelman School of Medicine.

In a career that spanned more than half a century, Rabbi Gerald I. Wolpe was best known for two things: leading one of the region's most influential synagogues, Har Zion Temple, and his contributions in the fields of medical ethics and caregiving. Rabbi Wolpe, 81, of Center City, died yesterday of pancreatic cancer at Penn Hospice at Rittenhouse. In 1969, Rabbi Wolpe became the third rabbi to the lead the Conservative synagogue, which was then in Wynnefield. Four years later, he oversaw Har Zion's move to Penn Valley to accommodate young families in the suburbs.

The pastoral transition at one of the city's most venerable black churches, Bright Hope Baptist in North Philadelphia, was thrown into question this week by revelations that the newly named leader does not have the academic credentials attributed to him. Cean James, 31, a charismatic, can-do minister known in the city for his work on behalf of youth, was elected Sunday to succeed former U.S. Rep. William H. Gray 3d as pastor of the 2,500-member congregation....

The so-called ethical debate over whether to reconnect the feeding tube that kept Terri Schiavo alive for 15 years has produced more myths than facts. Self-appointed experts appear on every "news" show, spewing forth unsubstantiated opinion as fact, misleading listeners, and further confusing complex issues while claiming to clarify them. This has led to the development of unfounded myths concerning end-of-life decisions. I would like to dispel some of the myths that have become part of our common language.

Role in executions violates doctors' oath Re: the article by Robert Moran and Kaitlin Gurney ("N.J. court suspends executions," Feb. 21). Appellate Judge Sylvia B. Pressler's granting a moratorium on executions by lethal injection holds that the New Jersey Department of Corrections does not have sufficient medical expertise to carry out executions by this method. It will never be possible for the department to have executioners of sufficient expertise, because physician participation in executions is a violation of medical ethics.