Pragmatic Health Ethics Research Unit

07/24/2025

NOUVELLE / NEW PUBLICATION 🎉📚

Bénédicte D'Anjou, Katherine Desjardins, Ianniruberto G, et al. Launching a Living Ethics Initiative to Explore Patients’ Psychological Distress in a Highly Specialized Interdisciplinary Care Clinic. Qualitative Health Research. 2025;0(0). doi:10.1177/10497323251353435

Human brain organoids (HBOs) are three-dimensional structures derived from human pluripotent stem cells that model aspects of fetal brain development. As HBO models grow more complex, ethical concerns arise, particularly around the potential for consciousness. Defining and detecting consciousness in HBOs remains unresolved, with existing theories offering conflicting predictions. This systematic review examines how consciousness is conceptualized in the ethical and philosophical literature concerning HBOs. We selected peer-reviewed publications written in English from 2013 onward that directly address consciousness regarding HBOs. After screening 51 sources, 24 were analysed in themes: Consciousness Terminology, Biological Limitations, Theories of Consciousness, Detecting Consciousness, Comparisons with Conscious Entities, and Special Entities. Uncertainty about consciousness in general complicates the conversation around HBOs. Clear communication is essential to avoid misconceptions, and future research may benefit from focusing on organoid intelligence as a more tractable concept.

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Ethical issues are often difficult to discuss openly in clinical settings. However, silence can be detrimental to both patients and healthcare providers, and ma...

07/17/2025

What if robots could help us feel calmer, more focused, or more connected? According to neuroscientist Dr. Julie Robillard, that future may already be taking shape. What Have We Learned from Human-Robot Interactions? Dr. Robillard’s research has shown that people are generally open to engaging wit...

07/17/2025

Un répertoire inédit de ressources internationales sur l’aide médicale à mourir en contexte de troubles de santé mentale (AMM-TM) voit le jour, sous l'égide de l’Unité de recherche en éthique pragmatique de la santé de l’IRCM.
👉 Réalisé dans le cadre d’un projet de recherche-action participative, ce répertoire dresse un état des lieux des ressources disponibles à l’échelle mondiale : cadres juridiques, outils pour les professionnel·le·s de la santé, ressources pour les patient·e·s et leurs proches, formations, etc.
🎯 Objectif : faciliter l’accès à l’information, mieux comprendre les besoins non comblés et orienter le développement de ressources pertinentes pour les personnes concernées par l’AMM-TM.
📚 En savoir plus : http://bit.ly/44Yha7N
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A unique directory of international resources on medical assistance in dying in the context of mental health disorders (MAID-MT) is being created, under the aegis of the IRCM's Pragmatic Health Ethics Research Unit.
👉 Developed as part of a participatory action research project, this directory provides an overview of the resources available worldwide: legal frameworks, tools for healthcare professionals, resources for patients and their loved ones, training, etc.
🎯 Objective: To facilitate access to information, better understand unmet needs, and guide the development of relevant resources for those affected by MAID-MT.
📚 Learn more: https://bit.ly/3GEhOiF

07/17/2025

07/15/2025

Hazan-Liran, B., & Levkovich, I. (2025). Epistemic Authority in “Risk-Making”: Ethical Dimensions of Surrogate Decision-Making for Patients with Disorders of Consciousness. AJOB Neuroscience, 16(3), 146–149. https://doi.org/10.1080/21507740.2025.2519438

The “risk-making” concept introduced by Clark, Edgley, and Kerry (Citation2025) represents a significant theoretical advancement in understanding the decision-making processes for patients with disorders of consciousness (PiDOC). By distinguishing between "risk-taking" (where individuals make decisions about their own risks) and "risk-making" (where acceptable risk is determined by others), Clark, Edgley, and Kerry identify a critical paradigm for analyzing the complex ethical landscape surrounding PiDOC healthcare decisions. Their tripartite framework examines the influences of persons, evidence, and experts, offering valuable insight into why PiDOC decision-making may differ from other clinical contexts. This commentary extends their framework by incorporating principles of epistemic justice, highlighting how institutional and social structures influence who counts as a "knower" and whose knowledge claims are validated (Elyoseph, Hadar Shoval, and Levkovich Citation2024).

Published in AJOB Neuroscience (Vol. 16, No. 3, 2025)

07/10/2025

🔍 Nouvelle publication | New Publication 📢

*** English follows*** 🗣

Nous sommes heureux·ses de souligner l’article du Dr Abdou Senghor, ancien chercheur postdoctoral à notre unité, publié dans Health Expectations :

📄 A Proposal for Addressing Bioethical Concerns Along the 10‐Step Framework for Community Engagement in Global Health Research

Cet article propose une approche innovante pour intégrer les préoccupations bioéthiques dans les initiatives de recherche en santé mondiale, en se basant sur un cadre en 10 étapes pour l’engagement communautaire. Il s’agit d’une contribution importante au dialogue sur l’éthique, la décolonisation et la justice dans la recherche mondiale.

Nous félicitons Abdou pour cette avancée essentielle vers une recherche plus inclusive, équitable et ancrée dans les réalités des communautés.

👉 Lire l’article : https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.70345

***

We’re proud to highlight a new article by Dr. Abdou Simon Senghor, former postdoctoral fellow at our unit, published in Health Expectations:

📄 A Proposal for Addressing Bioethical Concerns Along the 10‐Step Framework for Community Engagement in Global Health Research

This work proposes a meaningful strategy for integrating bioethical reflection into global health research initiatives, grounded in a 10-step framework for community engagement. It’s an important contribution to advancing ethical, decolonial, and socially just research practices.

Congratulations, Abdou, for helping shape a more inclusive and community-rooted approach to global health research!

👉 Read the article: https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.70345

Introduction Building trust by applying an ethical deliberation approach can increase Black/African American participation in clinical and translational community-engaged research (CEnR). Material...

07/07/2025

Did you know? A recent Ipsos poll commissioned by Dying With Dignity Canada indicates that 84% of people across Canada support advance requests for medical assistance in dying (MAID) for individuals with a grievous and irremediable medical condition.

Read more about the results on our website. https://ow.ly/Injn50VAr35

07/02/2025

"Cette crise, bien que dénoncée de longue date par les groupes communautaires et militants, prend désormais une ampleur inédite. En toile de fond, deux facteurs structurels : le manque chronique de logements sociaux et un marché de plus en plus livré à la spéculation immobilière."

Dans un contexte où l’État se désengage de ses responsabilités en matière de logement, des réseaux d’aide informels émergent, notamment sur les réseaux sociaux, comme un filet de sécurité improvisé.

06/25/2025

👉 📚 NOUVELLE / NEW PUBLICATION

Favron-Godbout C, Foster I, Racine E. A repertoire and critical review of international resources relevant to medical assistance in dying where a mental disorder is the sole underlying medical condition. Int J Law Psychiatry. 2025 Jun 23;102:102114. doi: 10.1016/j.ijlp.2025.102114. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40554822.

Keywords:
Ethics
Bioethics
Medical assistance in dying
Euthanasia
Physician assisted su***de
Mental disorders
Resources

Abstract
Background: The possibility of asking for help in ending one's life is at the heart of some of the most enduring debates in medicine and bioethics. As a growing number of countries open to the practice, many concerns are emerging internationally about medical assistance in dying where a mental disorder is the sole underlying medical condition (MAiD-MD). It is paramount to understand what academic literature and resources are available to support different stakeholders in the context of MAiD-MD.

Objectives: This review aims to specifically identify various resources related to MAiD-MD and to initiate a process of compiling international resources to raise awareness about certain resources and support stakeholders to develop new resources.

Methods: This review of resources adopted a methodology inspired by the work of Arksey and O'Malley (2005) and Levac et al. (2010)'s scoping studies, as well as more structured forms of thematic literature reviews for content extraction.

Results: 165 resources related directly or indirectly to MAiD-MD were identified and grouped according to the following six categories: 1) Laws, judgments, decisions, and reports from the operationalization of laws; 2) Ethical and clinical guidelines, protocols, practice guides, and information for healthcare professionals; 3) Resource directories; 4) Resources for sharing experiences, discussions, support or training; 5) Written resources for MAiD applicants, their relatives or the population; 6) Resources to support reflections and guide the development of practices. Twenty main relevant themes were identified through the thematic analysis. These themes are addressed and explored in varying degrees of depth throughout different resources.

Discussion: A diversity of relevant resources is developed internationally, but these are sometimes dispersed, little known, or inaccessible to the public. Numerous resources are developed to inform the various stakeholders and train healthcare professionals, but there seems to be a need to develop advanced support resources to help the various stakeholders in the context of MAiD-MD.

Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal - IRCM

A diversity of relevant resources is developed internationally, but these are sometimes dispersed, little known, or inaccessible to the public. Numerous resources are developed to inform the various stakeholders and train healthcare professionals, but there seems to be a need to develop advanced sup...

06/18/2025

🎥 Nouvelle vidéo en ligne !

Valérie Grand'Maison présente : « Défense des droits des femmes en situation de handicap : entre transformation locale et essentialisme »

Cette conférence percutante donne la parole aux femmes concernées et met en lumière leurs mobilisations face aux violences systémiques.

📍Elle fait partie de la Série de conférences de Montréal en éthique de la santé.

👉 Regardez la vidéo : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=op-dMaEM8lA

Série de conférences de Montréal en éthique de la santéDéfense des droits des femmes en situation de handicap: entre transformation locale et essentialisme, ...

06/17/2025

"Summary: A new brain imaging study reveals that the sense of agency—our feeling of being responsible for our actions—decreases when we follow orders, regardless of whether we are civilians or military officers. Participants were asked to make moral decisions involving inflicting harm either freely or under coercion, and fMRI results showed reduced neural markers of agency during coerced actions.

Interestingly, no significant difference was found between civilians and officer cadets, suggesting that the brain processes moral responsibility similarly across groups. The findings shed light on the neuroscience behind obedience and moral decision-making, with important implications for ethics, justice, and leadership training.

Key Facts:

Sense of Agency Drops Under Orders: Participants felt less responsible when following commands than when choosing freely.
No Civilian–Military Divide: Brain activity patterns linked to moral decision-making were similar in both groups.
Implications for Ethics Training: Results highlight the importance of fostering responsibility in hierarchical systems."

A new brain imaging study reveals that the sense of agency—our feeling of being responsible for our actions—decreases when we follow orders, regardless of whether we are civilians or military officers.

06/12/2025

👋 À 12 H (conférence hybride) – Droits des femmes en situation de handicap : entre terrain et théories, Valérie Grand'Maison - https://mailchi.mp/ircm/droits-des-femmes-en-situation-de-handicap-entre-transformation-locale-et-essentialisme-14052774