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Dr. Robert Klitzman @robertklitzman.bsky.social · 2d

RFK, Jr. fires NIH scientists who were whistleblowers about public health threats, raising ethical concerns
nytimes.com/2025/10/02/h...
#bioethics #RFKJr #science #nih #ethics #vaccines

Kennedy Fires N.I.H. Scientist Who Filed Whistle-Blower Complaint

nytimes.com

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Dr. Robert Klitzman @robertklitzman.bsky.social · 9d

What will happen to Obamacare? Huge threat from Congress raises major ethical concerns -- from @nytimes.com
#bioethics #trump #congress #republicans #GOP #taxcuts #healthcare

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/h...

Why Obamacare Bills May Double Next Year

www.nytimes.com

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Dr. Robert Klitzman @robertklitzman.bsky.social · 14d

Review in the Hastings Center Report of my new book, Doctor, Will You Pray for Me?: Medicine, Chaplains, and Healing the Whole Person onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Link to book: amazon.com/Doctor-Will-...

#bioethics #chaplains #spirituality #religion #health #doctors

God 2.0?

Robert L. Klitzman's Doctor, Will You Pray for Me? Medicine, Chaplains, and Healing the Whole Person (Oxford University Press, 2024) offers a fervent apology for the increasingly crucial role of chap...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Dr. Robert Klitzman @robertklitzman.bsky.social · 15d

Existential Threats and Other Disasters: Conference in Paris, June 11–12, 2026.
I’ll be speaking there! Abstract submission deadline is 3 weeks from now.

Details: csb.eu.com/conference/

#bioethics #healthcare #refugees #climatechange #AI #Paris

Existential Threats and Other Disasters –International Conference

"Existential Threats and Other Disasters: Novel (Bio)ethical Solutions for Novel Challenges" at Reid Hall in Paris, France (June 11–12, 2026)

csb.eu.com

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Dr. Robert Klitzman @robertklitzman.bsky.social · 17d

The CRISPR Babies: My thoughts in the new Science History Podcast
www.sciencehistory.org/stories/dist...

#bioethics #genetics #healthcare #eugenics

CRISPR: Big Breakthrough, Big Questions

CRISPR is a powerful technology, but altering the genes of children gave us pause.

www.sciencehistory.org

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Dr. Robert Klitzman @robertklitzman.bsky.social · Sep 5

RFK, Jr., Congressional testimony raises many ethical concerns -- from @nytimes.com
nytimes.com/2025/09/04/u...
#vaccines #antivaxxers #Trump #publichealth #bioethics #measles #polio #healthcare

A Defiant Kennedy Defends Vaccine Changes and C.D.C. Shake-Up

nytimes.com

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Dr. Robert Klitzman @robertklitzman.bsky.social · Aug 26

What really causes autism and what we should about it: my essay from the @hastingscenter.bsky.social forum

What Really Causes Autism and What We Should Do About It : The Hastings Center for Bioethics

There are crucial questions about what causes autism and how to prevent and address it.

www.thehastingscenter.org

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Dr. Robert Klitzman @robertklitzman.bsky.social · Aug 15

New AI abilities to 'read' ALS patient's words offers hope, but also raises important neuroethics questions--see @carlzimmer.com's piece in the @nytimes.com
nytimes.com/2025/08/14/s...
#bioethics #neuroethics #healthcare #neurology #brain #healthpolicy #law

For Some Patients, the ‘Inner Voice’ May Soon Be Audible

nytimes.com

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Dr. Robert Klitzman @robertklitzman.bsky.social · Aug 5

Rising tide of fake scientific papers, which may increase due to funding cuts, raises major concerns -- see @carlzimmer.com's piece in @nytimes.com

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/s...
#bioethics #MedSky

Fraudulent Scientific Papers Are Rapidly Increasing, Study Finds

www.nytimes.com

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Dr. Robert Klitzman @robertklitzman.bsky.social · Aug 2

Trump launches pilot plan to cover weight loss drugs, but what of the costs of Ozempic? My further thoughts in @newsweek.com from @jesusmesa.bsky.social
www.newsweek.com/medicare-upd...
#bioethics #MedSky #Medicare

Medicare update: Trump admin launching pilot program to cover Ozempic

Drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists were initially developed to treat Type 2 diabetes but have become a cultural phenomenon.

www.newsweek.com

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Dr. Robert Klitzman @robertklitzman.bsky.social · Jul 21

New research suggests that polygenic risk scores predict childhood obesity; but ethical questions arise, given possible misunderstandings of relative risks & other factors.
From @nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/21/h...
#obesity #BigFood #genetics #health #bioethics #ozempic #healthcare

Obesity Prediction Could Be Guided by Genetic Risk Scores

www.nytimes.com

Dr. Robert Klitzman @robertklitzman.bsky.social · Jul 16

Problems with ChatGPT in toys: my thoughts in today’s NYT's letter to the editor
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/o...
#bioethics #ethics #AIethics #ChatGPT

Opinion | Where Have All the Novel-Reading Men Gone?

www.nytimes.com

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Dr. Robert Klitzman @robertklitzman.bsky.social · Jun 30

ChatGPT Barbie poses concerns for children's mental health -- from @nytopinion.nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/25/o...
#bioethics #AI #AIethics #Congress #mentalhealth

Opinion | Don’t Let Silicon Valley Move Fast and Break Children’s Minds

www.nytimes.com

Dr. Robert Klitzman @robertklitzman.bsky.social · Jun 28

Read more about last week's wonderful conversation with neuroethicist Dr. Joseph Fins here: sps.columbia.edu/news/coma-co...
#bioethics #neuroethics #neuroscience

From Coma to Consciousness: Examining the Ethics and Neuroscience of Brain Injury

Dr. Joseph Fins and Bioethics program director Dr. Robert Klitzman explore new ethical practices for patients in a coma or a minimally conscious state.

sps.columbia.edu

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Dr. Robert Klitzman @robertklitzman.bsky.social · Jun 14

Trump attacking NEJM, Science & other journals, threatening independent science
www.bmj.com/content/389/...
#bioethics #science #NEJM

NEJM the latest journal to receive letter from Trump appointed attorney asking about bias

The New England Journal of Medicine ( NEJM ) has become the latest and most high profile journal to receive a letter from Edward Martin Jr, a Republican activist who was appointed US attorney for Wash...

www.bmj.com

Reposted by Dr. Robert Klitzman

The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics @jlme-journal.bsky.social · Jun 13

Author @robertklitzman.bsky.social analyzes how regulations can strike a balance between protecting surrogates from exploitation and allowing people who cannot have children to become parents in "Gestational Surrogacy, the Pope and Needs for Regulations."
#Surrogacy
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Independent Articles
Gestational Surrogacy, the Pope, and Needs for Regulations
Robert Klitzman
Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Mailman School of Public Health and Masters of Bioethics Program, Columbia University, New York, United States
Abstract
As surrogacy grows, many states and countries are enacting or considering relevant regulations, while others oppose it. Ethical, legal and policy
questions arise: how to balance the rights of various kinds of parents (e.g., heterosexual and same-sex couples and single individuals) against the
rights and well-being of surrogates. Concerns include risks of exploitation, autonomy, benefits of enabling prospective parents to create loving
families, and mitigating possible harms through regulations. Though a few instances of abuse have been reported in developing countries, these
do not appear to have occurred in developed countries, where robust regulations exist. The limited data available on surrogates in general
(i.e., including traditional and non-commercial surrogacy) do not suggest exploitation or trafficking. In 2021, New York State enacted robust
regulations allowing commercial surrogacy. Subsequent competing bills have sought to loosen or enhance certain restrictions. These
regulations may be a model for commercial surrogacy regulations elsewhere, but certain ethical, legal and policy questions remain (e.g.,
where to draw the line to prevent trafficking). Additional data and exploration of these challenges are crucial
Keywords: assisted reproductive technologies; ethics; policy; surrogacy; religion

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Dr. Robert Klitzman @robertklitzman.bsky.social · Jun 12

RFK Jr's vaccine advisory panel contain anti-vaxxers, raising major ethical concerns
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/u...
#bioethics #vaccines #RFKJr #CDC

Kennedy Announces Eight New Members of C.D.C. Vaccine Advisory Panel

www.nytimes.com

Dr. Robert Klitzman @robertklitzman.bsky.social · Jun 10

Testing embryos for Alzheimer's, etc?: My thoughts in Inc. Magazine
www.inc.com/ben-sherry/k...
#genetics #bioethics #biotech

This 25-Year-Old Biotech Founder Says His Startup Can 'Optimize' Embryos for Intelligence

Nucleus Genomics founder Kian Sadeghi is making bold claims about his company's genetic testing technology.

www.inc.com

Dr. Robert Klitzman @robertklitzman.bsky.social · May 30

RFK Jr's health report uses bad science thanks to AI -- from @washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

White House MAHA Report may have garbled science by using AI, experts say

The report, led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was intended to address the reasons for the decline in Americans’ life expectancy.

www.washingtonpost.com

Dr. Robert Klitzman @robertklitzman.bsky.social · May 30

New technologies for screening embryos: my thoughts on @cnbc.com
www.cnbc.com/video/2025/0...
#bioethics #genetics #infertility #IVF

This start-up is lowering the chances of passing on life-threatening diseases to your children—but it will cost you

IVF was conceived as a reproductive method for people with infertility issues, but over the past decade, other patient groups have turned to it to prevent passing on genetic conditions to their child.

www.cnbc.com

Dr. Robert Klitzman @robertklitzman.bsky.social · May 7

Making America Great by Investing in Science: My thoughts in the @hastingscenter.bsky.social forum
www.thehastingscenter.org/to-make-amer...
#trump #nih #nsf #maga #rfkjr #bioethics

To Make America Healthy Again, Stop Divesting from Science

Proposed cuts to federal research funding and attacks on universities imperil the longstanding global leadership of the United States in scientific and medical discoveries and raise profound bioethica...

www.thehastingscenter.org

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Dr. Robert Klitzman @robertklitzman.bsky.social · Apr 30

The high costs of Ozempic: My thoughts in @newsweek.com
from @jesusmesa.bsky.social
www.newsweek.com/2025/05/09/w...
#healthcare #obesity #bioethics #insurance #ozempic

How Ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs are eating away at body positivity

How GLP-1 drugs like Mounjaro and Ozempic are redefining the debate about size, weight loss and privilege

www.newsweek.com

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Dr. Robert Klitzman @robertklitzman.bsky.social · Apr 25

On @vox.com's Today Explained podcast discussing bringing back extinct animals:
www.vox.com/today-explai...
#bioethics #genetics #direwolf

Today, Explained podcast

Today, Explained is Vox’s daily news explainer podcast. Hosts Sean Rameswaram and Noel King will guide you through the most important stories of the day. You can listen to it, and more Vox podcasts, h...

www.vox.com

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Dr. Robert Klitzman @robertklitzman.bsky.social · Apr 24

RFK, Jr.'s comments on autism are inaccurate and pathologize autism -- from @nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/23/o...
#ethics #autism #autismspeaks #genetics #disabilities #disabilityrights #nih #vaccines #bioethics #healthcare #HHS #scientificfalsehood

Opinion | Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Comments on Autism Take America Back a Century

Kennedy implies that disabled people are a taxpayer burden.

www.nytimes.com

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Dr. Robert Klitzman @robertklitzman.bsky.social · Apr 24

Catch my conversation with @randycohen48.bsky.social for Person Place Thing here: personplacething.org/530-robert-k...

#healthcare #spirituality #religion #chaplains #newguinea #prion #kuru #Creutzfeldt-jakobdisease #cjd #neuro #stoneage #bioethics

530: Robert Klitzman | Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen

Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen is an interview show based on this idea: people are particularly engaging when they speak not directly about themselves but about something they care about. Guests ...

personplacething.org