Ethics Headlines is an
ethics-in-the-news clipping file published each Friday by Greg
Feldmeth, a
high school teacher at Polytechnic
School
in Pasadena, California. It contains news items from the media in the
past week that deal with some area of ethical inquiry.
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Ethics
Headlines in the subject line. If you know of others
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This
week's headlines--select the headline to read the article
- A matter of life or
death for babies. Babies born at 23 weeks of
pregnancy or earlier should usually be allowed to die naturally,
according to new [Australia] state guidelines, while those born at 24
weeks or
later will generally be given intensive care treatment.
- Democracy can't
thrive where theocracy holds sway. The good news for Abdul Rahman is that
the government of Afghanistan won't kill him for converting from Islam
to Christianity.The bad news is that he now wears a bull's-eye on his
back, just
another way for some holy warrior to kill an infidel (apostate in his
case) and win a free trip to heaven.
- One-night stands are immoral, say women. They are apparently more sexually liberated than ever before - but most women still believe one-night stands are immoral, research shows. Forty years after the dawn of women's lib, British females judge friends and acquaintances who indulge in casual sex as being 'needy' and 'deviant'.
- Female enrollment
growth worries colleges. The nation's elite private schools are
regularly doing what would
once have been unthinkable: bypassing qualified women for less
qualified male students. Salt Lake City's Westminster College is no
exception. So many more qualified women apply than men that admissions
officers have to look at criteria other than grades and test scores to
balance out the gender mix of the freshman class, said Joel Bauman,
Westminster vice president for enrollment.
- How to end the
same-sex marriage debate. With
mid-term elections approaching, politicians are once again
returning to one of their favorite themes: protecting the sanctity of
marriage. When same-sex marriage is raised, citizens quickly forget
about rampant corruption in Congress, towering budget deficits, or even
the Iraq war.
- Western reporters in
Africa struggle over when to help. Daily journalism involves many
dilemmas. But Western reporters covering developing countries often
face unique conundrums: A little humanity - just the change in their
pockets - can sometimes feed 10 or 20 people. Such giving can violate a
basic tenet of journalism: Observe, don't engage. It's a cornerstone of
the effort to stay objective. But Western reporters often ask
themselves: Should I help anyway?
- 40%
lose virginity by 14th birthday, survey says. Urban teens are increasingly losing
their virginity before they can legally drive. A new survey shows four
out of 10 city kids say they have had
intercourse before age 14, and have engaged in oral and even anal sex
by 17.
- Volume 2, Week 13--March 31
- Volume 2, Week 12--March 24
- Volume 2, Week 11-March 17
- Volume 2, Week 10-March 10
- Volume 2, Week 9-March 3
- Volume
2, Week 8-February 24
- Volume
2, Week 7-February 17
- Volume
2, Week 6-February 10
- Volume
2, Week 5--February 3
- Volume
2, Week 4--January 27
- Volume
2, Week 3--January 20
- Volume
2, Week 2--January 13
- Volume 2, Week 1--January 6