Margaret Somerville

Margaret Somerville is Samuel Gale Professor of Law, Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, and Founding Director of the Centre for Medicine, Ethics and Law at McGill University, Montreal. She has an extensive national and international publishing and speaking record and frequently comments in all forms of media. Her books include The Ethical Canary: Science, Society and the Human Spirit (Penguin 2000); and The Ethical Imagination: Journeys of the Human Spirit (Anansi 2006; CBC 2006 Massey Lectures).  Among her many honours and awards are the Order of Australia, seven honorary doctorates, and the UNESCO Avicenna Prize for Ethics in Science.

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Who or what is a “child”?

22 May 2013 |

tags: abortion, Canada

Canada's Parliament lacks the courage to take a stand on defining when an unborn child will be protected by the law.





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Why is Canada’s parliament tip-toeing around sex-selective abortion?

9 Apr 2013 |

tags: abortion, Canada, gendercide, sex-selective abortion

Debate is being stifled because the government is afraid to touch the third rail.





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Let human bodies stay priceless

19 Mar 2013 |

tags: bioethics, commodification, market economy, utilitarianism

Turning organs into commercially-traded commodities will subtly alter our relationships.





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Amour: does old age have any honour left?

24 Jan 2013 |

tags: ageing, euthanasia, film reviews

A harrowing film about a French couple’s struggle with dementia is a powerful but inadequate argument for legalized euthanasia.





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The dead-end values driving euthanasia advocacy

21 Jan 2013 |

tags: Canada, euthanasia, relativism

A Quebec government report endorsing euthanasia rests on a moral relativism that has already failed the young.





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Pizza, prison and punishment

15 Jan 2013 |

tags: prisons, rehabilitation

An ethical assessment of allowing prisoners to order in the odd pizza or KFC dinner.





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Finding common ground on Canadian abortion law

6 Dec 2012 |

tags: abortion, Canada, common ground

After years of debate, Canada has no law on abortion. Is is possible to find an acceptable compromise to rein it in?





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Who sets the ethical tone of society?

16 Nov 2012 |

tags: business ethics, Canada, corruption

A massive corruption scandal in Quebec raises the question of how to screen out rogues before they reach the trough.





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Will “choice” trump even gendercide?

3 Oct 2012 |

tags: Canada, sex selective abortions

A new page in Canada’s abortion debate will force pro-choice politicians to decide just how non-negotiable their position is.





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The right to life and Canada’s democracy

26 Sep 2012 |

tags: abortion, Canada

Today's vote in Ottawa about re-opening the abortion debate is also a test of political ethics.





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