Devin Kellis Argues for Extinction Medicine as a Medical Specialty

The greatest threat to human health is us. Humans are the only species capable of self-annihilation. For at least the past 30 years it has been acknowledged that the earth is presently experiencing its sixth mass extinction entirely caused by anthropogenic GHG emissions. Per research published in 2023, current generic extinction rates are 35 times higher than expected background rates prevailing in the last million years under the absence of human impacts. Research published in Proceedings, the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) in 2022 concluded, “There is ample evidence that climate change could be catastrophic. We could enter such “endgames” at even modest levels of warming.” “Facing a future of accelerating climate change while blind to worst-case scenarios is naïve risk management at best and fatally foolish at worst.”Mr. Kellis’s August article (and related podcast), “Why Should Extinction Medicine Be a Specialty?” appears in the recent AMA Journal of Ethics special issue on extinction medicine, at: https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/issue/existential-health-care-ethicsThe recent SSRN pre-print on extinction medicine is at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5109482The recent IPPNW-AMA Journal of Ethics webinar on the ethics of human extinctions: To sign up for the Extinction Medicine Reading Group, a new IPPNW Medical Student Movement initiative that will promote international, intergenerational, and interdisciplinary discussion on writings on the science, ethics, and medicalization of human extinction, go to: https://forms.gle/pLspc5URhu9VcuS37Mr. Kellis can be reached via : www.devinkellis.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thehealthcarepolicypodcast.com