Paul C. McLean

Cognoscenti contributor

Paul C. McLean is the author of "Blood Lines: Fatherhood, Faith and Love in the Time of Stem Cells." He's an ethics associate at Boston Children’s Hospital and writing support faculty at Harvard Medical School’s Center for Bioethics.

Recently published

A dentist works on a child in the Christina's Smile clinic at Norton Middle School Tuesday, May 27, 2014, in Columbus, Ohio. (Jay LaPrete/AP)

Dental Sedation Kills 4-Year-Old Who Might Have Been Saved By A Toothbrush

“Children should never, ever die during sedation for a dental procedure," an author in the journal Pediatrics writes. And yet, this isn’t an isolated case.

Local Coverage

Nov 10, 2017

This is an undated hand out photo of Charlie Gard provided by his family, at Great Ormond Street Hospital, in London. (Family of Charlie Gard via AP)

Medical Ethics: In The Charlie Gard Case, Listen To The Nurses

In the tragic case of Charlie Gard, the British baby with brain damage whose fate pitted doctors against parents, a medical ethicist would give special consideration to his nurses.

Local Coverage

Jul 25, 2017

In this 2016 photo, Puerto Rico resident Michelle Flandez caresses her 2-month-old son, who was diagnosed with microcephaly linked to the mosquito-borne Zika virus. (Carlos Giusti/AP)

In Pausing Human Research On Zika, Medical Ethicists Acknowledge A Dark Past

Ethics review of human subject research matters, writes Paul C. McLean. In pushing pause on a Zika study, the NIH ethics panel indicated awareness of a history too often either...

Local Coverage

Mar 21, 2017

House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. gives a thumbs-up to 7-year-old Max Schill, who suffers from Noonan Syndrome, after signing the 21st Century Cures Act, Thursday in Washington. Watching, from left are, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo. and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of La. (Cliff Owen/AP)

Ethicist Dad: Passage Of 21st Century Cures Act Fills Me With Both Hope And Dread

An ethicist and father whose daughter could have been killed by contaminated heparin worries that, while the 21st Century Cures Act could indeed lead to new cures, it could also...

Local Coverage

Dec 9, 2016

The Loneliest Patients: When They Can't Make Decisions, Who Will?

They're the 'unbefriended,' patients lacking the mental capacity to make medical decisions and relatives to do it for them. As this population grows, so does the urgency of how to...

Local Coverage

Oct 19, 2016

Medical Ethics: Incontinence A Fate Worse Than Death? Really?

Many survey respondents consider incontinence a fate worse than death -- but there's a big difference between an imagined disability and a real one.

Local Coverage

Sep 9, 2016

Contending With The Specter Of Death, 140 Characters At A Time

So often Kate Granger’s tale of dying has become one of living, which may be her greatest gift.

Cognoscenti

Apr 15, 2016

If The Brain Is Dead, Are You?

In medical ethics, a matter of language separates life from death. So why do some families release their loves ones, while others cling to hope?

Cognoscenti

Mar 31, 2016

Healing Garden, Heartbreaking Dilemma: Seeing The Prouty Debate From Both Sides

The Prouty Garden at Boston Children’s Hospital is slated for demolition, with a new clinical building set to go in its place. The issue has deeply divided patients and caregivers....

Cognoscenti

Mar 9, 2016

Paul C. McLean: "Until age 3, her name was a four-digit number, tattooed in her ear. We named her Hutch, for the place in Seattle where the cure and so much of the science behind it took place." Pictured: The author's late dog, Hutch. (Author/Courtesy)

This Dog's Life: Celebrating The Research Beagle That Helped Save My Daughter

Until age 3, her name was a four-digit number, tattooed in her ear. We named her Hutch, for the place in Seattle where the cure and so much of the...

Cognoscenti

Jan 27, 2016