Tag: Sanctity of Life
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Debate rages as first designer babies born
Should gene editing be banned? Chinese scientist He Jiankui claims to have created the world’s first gene-edited babies. The research, banned in many countries, has been widely condemned.
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Driverless cars ponder who should die first
Are some lives worth more than others? The rapid development of self-driving technology is raising questions about who should be saved in car crashes, and bringing up old ethical dilemmas.
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Book reveals Hawking’s last warning to humanity
Is humanity in danger? Genetically modified superhumans, climate chaos and an AI apocalypse — Stephen Hawking’s final book, which was published yesterday, predicts a future full of peril.
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Armchair assassins enter ethical minefield
Are drone pilots morally indefensible? With a click of a button, they can kill dozens. Now, the British Army is training ethicists to teach them about the morality of remote-control killing.
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Moral storm as designer babies get green light
Is it ethical to genetically engineer humans? A top bioethics council has declared gene editing of human embryos “morally permissible”. Some fear the social consequences could be disastrous.
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Ireland abortion vote ignites global debate
Should abortion be illegal? Today, Ireland holds a historic referendum on that issue. The vote, which looks set to be close, tackles what is arguably the world’s defining moral controversy.
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After 40 years, DNA tests trap serial killer
Should police have access to DNA databases? Last month, detectives in California caught a serial killer by using DNA information on a genealogy website. Privacy advocates are disturbed.
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The curious ethics of cruelty to robots
Should cruelty to robots be a crime? That is the premise of Westworld, whose second season premiered last week. It calls into question everything we think about morality...
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Alfie, the boy trapped between life and death
What should be done about Alfie Evans? The two-year-old is comatose and terminally ill. His hospital has decided that he should not be kept alive, but his parents refuse to give up hope.
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Toronto van attack: the cop who didn’t shoot
Is Canada’s calm cop a hero? After a van drove through pedestrians, killing 10, the public has praised the policeman who arrested the suspected driver. He says he was just doing his job.
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The brave French policeman who ‘died a hero’
Should you give your own life to save someone else? The world is mourning Arnaud Beltrame, a French policeman who died after saving a complete stranger during a terrorist attack on Friday.
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‘Death penalty for drug dealers’, urges Trump
Would executing drug dealers solve America’s opioid crisis? Donald Trump is seriously suggesting this drastic measure. “We have to get tough”, he says. But his opponents are aghast.
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Introducing the world’s first monkey clones
Will humans be next? For the first time, Chinese scientists have successfully cloned two macaque monkeys — the first primates to survive the process. Now, “The genie’s out of the bottle.”
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Boiled alive! Swiss ban cruelty to lobsters
Should humans be allowed to plunge living lobsters into the bubbling pot? Switzerland says not, igniting a furious debate about which animals feel pain — and just how much it matters anyway.
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Judi Dench, tree talk and the Wood Wide Web
Can trees converse? Scientists have written about their powers of communication. In a new documentary Dame Judi Dench looks at the ways they interact. How much do they share with humans?