“Bare Life, Moral Life” Symposium
Shortly after the Center’s annual summer conference in late June, CBHD co-sponsored a symposium in Madrid, Spain. The multiday event was hosted by the Albert Gnaegi Center for Health Care Ethics, Saint Louis University and co-sponsored by both CBHD and the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture. Held on the Madrid campus of Saint Louis University, the event gathered scholars from Europe, Israel, and the U.S. across a wide-spectrum of disciplines and religious commitments to explore fundamental questions related to reductionisms of human life through the discussion of such topics as genetic determinism, neuro-essentialism, disability, and medical futility at the end of life.
STAFF TRANSITIONS
New Staff
CBHD welcomed several new staff over the fall:
Hope Prinkey, MA (Full-Time Communications Manager & Executive Assistant)
Andrew Kaake (Part-Time Research Assistant)
STAFF
Paige Cunningham, JD
- Was interviewed by “Karl and June Morning” (Moody radio) on three different occasions, discussing: the German grandmother of quadruplets, mitochondrial diseases, and auditory brainstem implants.
- In June, guest-lectured in the Intensive Bioethics Summer Institute.
- On July 20, filed a letter with Michael Sleasman on behalf of CBHD with the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical issues emphasizing the need to welcome religious values and perspectives in the public square.
- In August, interviewed on “Let’s Talk with Mark Elfstrand” (WYLL Chicago) on neural drug implants.
- In last half of August, conducted a two-week adult forum at College Church on the subject of fetal tissue research in the wake of the Planned Parenthood videos.
- Wrote “Biohazards” columns for Salvo magazine on head transplants (Summer 2015), and gene editing of embryos (Fall 2015).
Michael Sleasman, PhD
- The May/June issue of Relevant magazine included quotes from an interview with Michael in the article, “The Science of Life.”
- In June, taught the Advanced Bioethics Summer Institute, and guest-lectured in several other bioethics courses leading up to the Center’s annual summer conference.
- In June, gave the opening address “Framing the Discussion: Science, Research, and the Limits of Bioethics” at CBHD’s 22nd annual summer conference.
- In late June, presented a response to Adam Green at the “Bare Life and Moral Life” symposium in Madrid, Spain.
- In July, co-authored an article entitled, “What’s Wrong with Designer Genes,” on DesiringGod.org with Paige about CRISPR and Chinese researchers involved in gene editing of human embryos.
Heather Zeiger, MS, MA
- Presented the paper “Big Data and the Scientific Method” at the CBHD annual conference.
- Published “On-Call Ethics Consultants in Human-Subject Research” at bioethics.com in May.
ON THE CBHD BOOKSHELF
For those interested in knowing what books and articles the Center staff have been reading and thought worth highlighting. **Notes that the resource includes material by members of the Center’s Academy of Fellows.
Articles of Note:
- Easton, Douglas, Paul Pharoah, Antonis Antoniou, Marc Tischkowitz et al. “Gene-Panel Sequencing and the Prediction of Breast-Cancer Risk.” New England Journal of Medicine 372, no. 23 (2015): 2243-2257.
- Howard, David. “Adverse Effects of Prohibiting Narrow Provider Networks.” New England Journal of Medicine 371, no. 7 (2014): 591-593.
- Jacobs, Douglas, and Benjamin Sommers. “Using Drugs to Discriminate: Adverse Selection in the Insurance Marketplace.” New England Journal of Medicine 372, no. 5 (2015): 399-402.
- Jameson, J. Larry, and Dan Lango. “Precision Medicine: Personalized, Problematic, and Promising.” New England Journal of Medicine 372, no. 23 (2015): 2229-2234.
- Janssen, William M. “A ‘Duty’ to Continue Selling Medicines.” American Journal of Law & Medicine 40, no. 4 (2014): 330-392.
- Johnson, Sandra. “Death, State by State.” Hastings Center Report 44, no. 3 (2014): 9-10.
- Kahn, Jeremy. “Virtual Visits: Confronting the Challenges of Telemedicine.” New England Journal of Medicine 372, no. 18 (2015): 1684-1685.
- Knoche, Jonathan. “Health Concerns and Ethical Considerations Regarding International Surrogacy.” International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 126, no. 2 (2014): 283-186.
- Lander, Eric. “Brave New Genome.” New England Journal of Medicine 373, no. 1 (2015): 5-8.
- Lee, Patrick, Christopher Tollefsen, and Robert George. “The Ontological Status of Embryos: A Reply to Jason Morris.” Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 39, no. 5 (2014): 483-504.
- Matlack, Samuel. “Confronting the Technological Society.” The New Atlantis: A Journal of Technology & Society 43 (Summer/Fall 2014): 45-64.
- **Meilaender, Gilbert. “No to Infant Euthanasia.” The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 149, no. 2 (2015): 533-534.
