Asking for Aid: ICE, Advocacy, and Bioethics

About this episode

Dr. Bryan Pilkington interviews Dr. Arthur Caplan about human rights and healthcare abuses in ICE detention facilities.

In this episode, Dr. Bryan Pilkington speaks with Dr. Arthur Caplan on his effort to urge the American and International Red Cross to investigate alleged human rights and healthcare abuses in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities. Caplan describes reports of unsafe, prison-like conditions, arguing that these conditions warrant independent inspection under international humanitarian norms. He emphasizes that bioethicists have a special responsibility to speak out because many of the violations directly involve health, basic care, and the rights of vulnerable populations, especially children. Read the open letter here: Caplan, Arthur L. “An Open Letter to the American Red Cross and the International Red Cross: Calling for Immediate Humanitarian Visits to ICE Internment Facilities in Texas,” published March 16, 2026 in Bioethics Today, the website for the American Journal of Bioethics . https://tinyurl.com/openletterRedCross Guest: Dr. Arthur Caplan is the Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor of Bioethics, Department of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Bryan Pilkington

Guest: Dr. Arthur Caplan

Topics covered

• human rights
• healthcare abuses
• bioethics
• advocacy
• ICE detention
• vulnerable populations

Keywords

• ICE
• bioethics
• human rights
• healthcare
• advocacy
• detention facilities
• vulnerable populations
• children

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: American Red Cross, International Red Cross, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Bioethics Today, American Journal of Bioethics

More episodes of Health Ethics Podcast

• Beyond Snapshots: Studying Medical Training Through Time · June 10, 2026 · 41 min
• Artificial Intelligence & the Social Role of Medicine Redefined · May 8, 2026 · 40 min
• Vaccines now: Politicians, science, and a new public health reality · February 24, 2026 · 32 min
• Why Accreditation Matters: Safeguarding Quality in Medical Education · January 5, 2026 · 46 min
• Art & the opposing viewpoint: Towards logical reasoning and civil discourse · October 20, 2025 · 42 min
• Academic Chutes and Ladders: Differential Attainment in Medical Education · October 1, 2025 · 31 min