In the civilian world, it’s illegal to deny health coverage or disability benefits on the basis of genetic information. In the U.S. military, that’s business as usual.
“You could be in the military and be a six-pack-a-day smoker, and if you come down with emphysema, ‘That’s OK. We’ve got you covered,’ ” said Kathy Hudson, director [...]

New materials and high-tech procedures are driving a surge in hip, knee and even ankle replacements.
Susan Burke’s left knee was humbling her. At 54, she wanted to hike and whitewater raft through the national parks or, at the very least, to stroll around the block with her husband at night, as she’d always done. Instead, [...]

AMA’s position on how doctors should respond when a pregnant woman’s habits impact her fetus.

With an estimated 2.1 billion airline passengers roaming the planet last year alone, infectious diseases are spreading faster than ever before, the U.N. health agency said Thursday, calling on governments to follow its revised regulations for fighting dangerous health crises.
“Vulnerability is universal,” WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan said in an introduction to the annual World [...]

Kathleen Aldrich, financially ruined by two bouts with ovarian cancer, is not who you might assume she is. She raised three kids as a single mom. She worked hard for years. She had good jobs. She paid her bills. She lived in a nice house and drove a nice car. She had a decent credit [...]

DOCTORS who fear their own death are more likely to speed up the death of sick newborns, according to new research. The study found doctors were more likely to help poorly babies die when it was obvious further medical treatment would be futile or that they would be severely disabled.
The research, published ahead of print [...]

The owners of a nursing home where 35 patients died amid flash flooding during Hurricane Katrina are set to stand trial on Monday on negligent homicide charges.
A torrent of water poured through ruptured levees, filling the one-story St. Rita’s Nursing Home almost to the ceiling in about 20 minutes after the storm roared ashore on [...]

The family of a 54-year-old stroke victim says the woman should be allowed to die rather than endure life-sustaining treatment that leaves her permanently sedated.
The Medical Ethics Committee at the woman’s hospital agrees. But doctors can’t grant the family’s wishes without violating state law.
The case could end up before the state Supreme Court, but a [...]

A New Zealand nurse is to go on trial on Monday for the attempted murder of her terminally ill mother, vowing to use the hearing to further her campaign for mercy killings to be made legal.
Intensive care nurse Lesley Martin, a leading euthanasia advocate who wrote a book detailing how she tried to help her [...]

A San Francisco transplant surgeon was criminally charged Monday with excessively prescribing drugs to a 25-year-old disabled man last year in order to hasten his death and harvest his organs sooner.
The felony charges are believed to be the first in the nation against a physician for his role in a transplant.
Experts said the case is [...]