Developing an Ethics Topic By Looking at a Picture

This is the last day of the year 2008 and I have posted 650 threads on this bioethics blog in the past 4 ½ years. Most of them are more or less unique from each other on subjects regarding ethics in medical practice and medical education. I have been asked how I think of a new subject to write about. My answer is that much is based on my own experiences as long time chair of a hospital ethics committee and long time physician and teacher of medical students. I find some topics in medical journals, ethics journals and the news media. Some topics I get from what is being discussed on a bioethics listserv to which I subscribe. Since publishing photographs on this blog was made practical, I have tried to relate the subject I have written about with a particular graphic, hopefully to emphasize a point. However, another way that I use graphics is to start with a graphic and then think out what ethical issue that graphic might instill in me to write about. This approach is much more stimulating and represents, perhaps, an important way of looking at the world around us in terms of ethics.

So for this thread, I would like to perform a bit of an exercise or experiment in thinking about bioethics. I present the graphic below for my visitors to look at carefully, think and then come up with what they feel would be the best ethical issue that the graphic might illustrate. Perhaps, the issue might be one of the hundreds I have on this blog or perhaps it might be a totally new topic. If you take me up on this challenge, write a bit about what contributed to your decision.

And since is a discussion blog, if you disagree with the conclusion by a former visitor, explain your disagreement.
..Maurice.