The Torture Question

The torture question: is it "basically subject to perception" as expressed by CIA counterterrorism lawyer Jonathan Fredman in advising military and intelligence officials at Gitmo? Please discuss on where interrogation becomes torture.

The Parr Center for Ethics will be hosting a two-day symposium on coercive interrogation on September 12-13, 2008. Click here to find out more about this timely event.

Should pharmacists market their beliefs? Is there a line to be drawn?

The opening of a "pro-life" pharmacy in Chantilly, VA certainly brings up a slew of ethical issues. Beyond the immediate actions of this particular pharmacist, at what point can and should a health worker deny services or access based on their personal beliefs? Please discuss.

Death Penalty a Live Issue

The Parr Center recently finished a year of programs centered around capital punishment. A timely series indeed. Recently the Supreme Court upheld Kentucky's right to use its current lethal injection protocol for executions, thereby ending a de facto national moratorium and clearing the way for states to resume executing death row inmates. 

Arguably, though, the Court's decision to review the case in the first place is just the latest sign that the public opinion in the U.S. is shifting with respect to capital punishment in general, and lethal injection in particular. This is perhaps not so surprising given that 135 countries have abolished the use of capital punishment in law or in practice. If public opinion in the U.S. is shifting, it would seem it is only growing closer to the international norm. It is all the more surprising then to see hints that in Japan something of the reverse is happening -- public support for the death penalty is growing in Japan, says Son-U Jong of Korea's Chosun Ilbo.

Welcome!

Welcome to Ethics in the News, a new and improved feature of the Parr Center for Ethics. Here we'll be tracking and discussing ethical issues as they turn up in the news both domestically and abroad. We have high hopes for this blog, so we hope you'll check back often for the latest updates. Thanks for stopping by!