Do you want to know the latest information and news about today's important healthcare topics? Join the conversation with The Point, CMDA's blog focusing on breaking news stories in bioethics and healthcare. CMDA's experts contribute to the blog and also recommend additional resources and information.

The purpose of this blog is to stimulate thought and discussion about important issues in healthcare. Opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily express the views of CMDA. We encourage you to join the conversation on our website and share your experience, insight and expertise. CMDA has a rigorous and representative process in formulating official positions, which are largely limited to bioethical areas.

Pride Kills

By Steven Willing, MD | October 23, 2023

Pride deceives us in many ways. One of the more dangerous expressions is to overestimate our competence and skill. In high-risk situations, the consequences can be disastrous. Too often, greed is offered as a simplistic explanation. The truth runs much deeper.

Childhood Bereavement—Our Response

By Robert E. Cranston, MD, MA (Ethics) | October 5, 2023

It’s been reported that a total of 8 percent of all children in the United States will experience death of a parent by the time they reach the age of 18 years. If the endpoint of this analysis is 25 years, a total of 14.7 million will experience this tragedy in their lives.

Not Progressive, Not Conservative, But Christian

By Amy Givler, MD | September 28, 2023

Whenever I hear the word “polarization,” I can’t help but think of cell division. Specifically? Anaphase, which perhaps you remember from high school biology. All the organelles have been doubled and are bunched at the edges—in moments it will split down the middle and become two cells.

No Man is an Island

By Autumn Dawn Galbreath, MD, MBA | September 21, 2023

Have you ever felt like an island? Do you have days when you talk to people all day but, when the day ends, no one knows anything more significant about you than they did when it began?

AAP calls for “systematic review of evidence,” yet reaffirms 2018 gender-affirming care policy

By Andrè Van Mol, MD | August 28, 2023

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) announced on AAP News on August 4, 2023, “AAP reaffirms gender-affirming care policy, authorizes systematic review of evidence to guide update.”

Victims of the Sexual Revolution, Part 2: The Decline of Happiness, and the Plight of the Young Liberal Woman

By Steven Willing, MD | August 17, 2023

Increasing levels of depression and other mental illnesses in Western societies have been well-described, but there are many theories as to why. In this installment, we argue that the decline of marriage is the most critical yet overlooked factor, and why the young liberal woman suffers the most.

Who Do You Believe, and Why?

By Robert E. Cranston, MD, MA (Ethics) | August 10, 2023

When we are attempting to think rationally in appropriate syllogistic lines, for us to draw accurate conclusions from news items we see on television, in the news and on social media, the information we receive as the input to our process must be accurate, and to a great extent must be complete.

Who Counts? Bioethics, Biomedicine and Exploitation of Nascent Human Beings

By David Prentice, PhD | July 24, 2023

What defines our humanity and what it means to be a human being? Put another way, who counts? Every human life has value, no matter the age or stage of development, size, genetic or acquired characteristics or circumstances of the individual.

Becoming Patients Ourselves

By Autumn Dawn Galbreath, MD, MBA | July 20, 2023

How and when did we become cynical and emotionally unengaged with our patients? And what can any of us do to fix it?

Are You Visiting People in Their Quicksand?

By Nicole D. Hayes | June 29, 2023

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows” (Psalm 23:5, ESV).

Teaching Points from the Educator Award

By Andrè Van Mol, MD | June 22, 2023

At the 2023 CMDA National Convention my wife Evelyn and I were honored, blessed and quite humbled to receive the 2023 Educator of the Year Award. This all happened under the watchful eye of Princeton’s Professor Robert George, whom I have admired for years (and no, I did not go full fan boy and embarrass CMDA, but we did talk privately a while). I was given a few minutes to share some thoughts which I am now offering you, my colleagues.

Courtesy: Quillette, 2018

The Psychology of Wokeness

By Steven Willing, MD | June 20, 2023

The cultural phenomenon known as “wokeness” is grounded in human pride, and it is expressed through moral absolutism, moral grandstanding and the will to control.

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