Center for Practical Bioethics

06/17/2026

Policy Volatility, Abortion Access, and the Erosion of Trust in Healthcare
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow?

The May Ethics Dispatch

A federal appeals court recently restricted access to the most commonly used medication abortion drug – Mifepristone -- via mail before the Supreme Court temporarily restored broader access while it considers the case, leaving the ultimate outcome uncertain and leaving the public unsure and anxious.

We explores the many ways instability in access to the drug creates avoidable harms and, ultimately, erodes public trust in healthcare.

https://www.practicalbioethics.org/blog/policy-volatility-abortion-access-and-the-erosion-of-trust-in-healthcare/

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A federal appeals court recently restricted access to the most commonly used medication abortion drug – Mifepristone -- via mail before the Supreme Court temporarily restored broader access while it considers the case, leaving the ultimate outcome uncertain and leaving the public unsure and anxiou...

06/09/2026

You can see Nanette Elster, JD, MPH, and Kayhan Parsi, JD, PhD, HEC-C, our John B. Francis co-chairs, at the ICCEC 2026 Conference in Cleveland on Thursday and Friday.

Nanette will be on a panel Thursday: Bridging Professions, Strengthening Practice: How Codes of Ethics Inform Clinical Ethics in a Changing Healthcare Landscape.

Nanette, Kayhan, Ally Peabody Smith, PhD, and Debjani Mukherjee, PhD, HEC-C will be presenting on Friday: Supporting Supported Decision-Making (SDM): The Need to Educate Patients, Supporters, and Clinicians.

Please say hello if you're going to the conference.

For conference information: https://cwru.cloud-cme.com/course/courseoverview?P=5&EID=77307

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CWRU School of Medicine, International Conference on Clinical Ethics and Consultation (ICCEC), 6/10/2026 8:00:00 AM - 6/13/2026 11:30:00 AM, Online Registration is now closed.  You may register onsite. 

06/05/2026

Communicating Health: Barriers and Solutions to Decision Paralysis and Confirmation Bias

Decision paralysis, the inability to make a choice due to feeling overwhelmed by options and fear of making the wrong decision, and confirmation bias, the unconscious tendency to seek confirmation of existing beliefs, can present major barriers to effective communication in healthcare. Odessa Sawyer, MSW, Program Coordinator at the Center, describes how these barriers
work and how partnerships with community organizations can alleviate many of these barriers.

https://www.practicalbioethics.org/whats-new/communicating-health-barriers-and-solutions-to-decision-paralysis-and-confirmation-bias/

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06/01/2026

Laundering Public Health: Using Autism to Revive Eugenics

Nanette Elster and Kayhan Parsi, JD, PhD, HEC-C with co-author Art Caplan describe how those promoting eugenics have often masked their ableist and economic motivations by couching their agenda in terms of public health. Further, they argue that “ideologies are legitimized by those in power and authority asserting a goal of improving society yet, in reality, harming public health, demonizing vulnerable minorities, and ignoring individual dignity and well-being.”

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15265161.2026.2659519

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Published in The American Journal of Bioethics (Ahead of Print, 2026)

05/28/2026

Exploring Foundations of Rights, Responsibilities and Ethics in Family Medicine Leadership

The Center hosted a breakout session at the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) “Advancing Leadership, Health Equity and Belonging in Family Medicine" pre-conference on April 22. Panelists, led by CPB President and CEO James Stowe, PhD, included:

Maria Fox, DNP, APRN-CNS, CCRN, HEC-C
Robert Fulbright, JD, MA
Claire Hillman, JD
Russell Makepeace, JD

Panelists examined core constitutional and statutory provisions that apply to clinical settings and respectful and ethical communication strategies to foster safer clinical environments.

Discussion focused on case studies and practical actions that translate into clinical practice and leadership.

Contact us for information about CPB presenting at your webinars, workshops and conferences.

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05/26/2026

Read the April Bioethics Bulletin:

What do cadaver fat, Medicaid, and healthcare ethics have in common?

This bulletin tackles some fascinating — and uncomfortable — questions in healthcare ethics:

💄 Cadaver fat for cosmetic procedures — it's legal, but is it ethical? The Guardian asked CPB's Ryan Pferdehirt to weigh in on "necrocosmetics" and the role of capitalism in the beauty industry.

💰 Ethics saves money — a new study shows embedding clinical ethics consultation into frontline healthcare cut one health system's costs by $288K in just six months, while reducing clinician burnout.

📋 Medicaid work requirements — we argue these policies are ethically incoherent, burdening the very people they claim to help and leaving clinicians in morally distressing situations.

🔗 Subscribe to stay at the forefront of healthcare ethics: https://lnkd.in/gqxXzCEi

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05/22/2026

Who’s Who at CPB: Cassandra Shaffer Johnson

Cassandra Shaffer Johnson, Program Director of Ethics Services, joined the Center in 2024. You may recognize Cassie as the author of most of the Hot Topic essays that appear in our monthly Ethics Dispatch Newsletter, which we mail directly to Ethics Committee Consortium members and link to in the Bulletin.

What I’m...
👂 Listening to: Lazy Chill Zone History. I love obscure history. And at least a little Led Zeppelin every day.
✈️ Wanting to visit: France.
📖 Reading: I wish I could say I'm re-reading Simone de Beauvoir or something equally thought-provoking, but I'm currently reading the Shady Hollow Mysteries by Juneau Black.
👀 Watching: Alfred Hitchcock Presents, MST3K, and way too many DIY YouTube tutorial videos.
👟 Getting Exercise: Tae-Bo every day.
😟 Worrying about: EVERYTHING.
🙏 Wishing for: Sanity and basic human decency to make a comeback.
🌈 Looking forward to: Something every day.

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05/20/2026

Beyond the Gala: A New Model for Fundraising in Bioethics

The Center is reimagining fundraising and outreach through more accessible, community-driven events that foster connection, empathy, and real-world impact.

Our Development and Events Coordinator Abby Gast-Watterson writes about why and how were are embracing new tactics—from casual gatherings to free educational experiences—all designed to deepen engagement with diverse audiences.

https://www.practicalbioethics.org/whats-new/beyond-the-gala-a-new-model-for-community-driven-fundraising-in-bioethics/

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05/14/2026

The April Ethics Dispatch: Medicaid Work Requirements Are Ethically Incoherent: Bioethics Navigates the Gray Areas

Bioethics often lives in gray areas. Increasingly, so do patients – and our policies are not built to recognize them.

Medicaid work requirement policies fail to achieve their stated outcomes. These policies are structured in a way that disproportionately burdens those they purport to help, functioning less as a pathway to independence than as a mechanism of exclusion.

Moreover, they leave clinicians to navigate ethically fraught situations often resulting in:
1️⃣ delayed care for patients and
2️⃣ and moral distress for the medical team.

https://www.practicalbioethics.org/blog/medicaid-work-requirements-are-ethically-incoherent/

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Medicaid work requirement policies fail to achieve their stated outcomes. These policies are structured in a way that disproportionately burdens those they purport to help, functioning less as a pathway to independence than as a mechanism of exclusion. Moreover, they leave clinicians to navigate eth...

05/07/2026

NEW STUDY FINDINGS:

Clinical ethics consultation IMPROVES the patient experience while REDUCING costs and clinician burnout.

One health system reported more than $288,000 in savings over six months using clinical ethics consultation.

Read a new study by Ryan Pferdehirt, Maggie Neustadt and Alex Slodov. Their paper, published in the Spring/March 2026 issue of Management in Healthcare, proposes a practical roadmap for clinical ethics integration, ranging from executive sponsorship and resource allocation to committee development an interprofessional embedding.

https://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/hsp/mih/2026/00000010/00000003/art00004

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