Updates and Activities (Spring-Summer 2024)

CBHD’s 2024 annual conference, The Future of Health: Faith, Ethics and our Med-Tech World, enjoyed an increase in conference attendees this year.
Keith Plummer, PhD, opened the conference, delivering the second annual Virtue Ethics Lecture on living virtuously in our technological world. Other plenary speakers included Matthew Lee Anderson, DPhil; Jason Thacker, PhD (Cand.); Kristin Collier, MD; Far Curlin, MD; Mihretu Guta, PhD and Anna Vollema, PhD (Cand.); and Michael Sleasman, PhD.
Living in the Biotech Century: The First 25 Years has been chosen as the 2025 conference title. Plenary addresses will cover such topics as virtue ethics, predictions vs. reality regarding the biotech century, a theology of suffering, the growth of assisted suicide, and more.

CBHD hosted our annual roundtable book discussion with three separate events for pastors, CBHD members, and TEDS students, faculty and staff.
Our first ever pastor’s book discussion explored J. Todd Billings’ The End of the Christian Life: How Embracing our Mortality Free Us to Truly Live.
CBHD members and TEDS faculty, students and staff discussed Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun.

Staff Bioethical Engagement

Taught a course on “Bioethics & Public Policy” at TEDS
Published “Real Aid in Dying Means Caring for the Dying, Not Helping Them to Die,” Newsweek, January 31, 2024, https://www.newsweek.com/real-aid-dying-means-caring-dying-not-helping-them-die-opinion-1865051.

Published “To Evangelicals: IVF Bioethical Questions to Grapple with,” The Christian Post, April 1, 2024, https://www.christianpost.com/voices/to-evangelicals-ivf-bioethical-questions-to-grapple-with.html.

Appeared on the PBS program “Chicago Tonight” to discuss the Alabama Supreme Court’s Ruling on Frozen Embryos: https://news.wttw.com/2024/03/05/how-illinois-law-protects-ivf-access-reproductive-health-care-rights.

Published “Tiny, Vulnerable Lives: What Should We Do with Hundreds of Thousands of Frozen Embryos?” World, May 1, 2024, https://wng.org/opinions/tiny-vulnerable-lives-1714520459.

Was interviewed by the Associated Press for “A Court Ruled Embryos Are Children. These Christian Couples Agree Yet Wrestle with IVF Choices,” June 5, 2024, https://apnews.com/article/ivf-embryos-christian-evangelicals-alabama-dce11430993cf7e1047987fa3fb06ace.

Led two breakout sessions at the annual EFCA Theology Conference on “Avoiding and Achieving Pregnancy.”
Appeared on Moody Radio Cleveland’s Mornings with Brian.
Spoke on “The Church and Gender Confusion” for the EFCA North Central District in New Hope, MN.
Attended CMDA’s National Conference and hosted a bioethics alumni gathering in Ridgecrest, NC.

Published “Abortion Advocacy, Inc.: Recklessness in Media Coverage of Abortion Law,” Salvo 68 (Spring 2024): https://salvomag.com/article/salvo68/abortion-advocacy-inc.
Published “Don’t Be Fooled by Support for ‘Medical-Aid-in-Dying.’ You’re Not Getting the Full Story,” Chicago Sun Times, March 31, 2024, https://chicago.suntimes.com/other-views/2024/03/29/medical-aid-in-dying-physician-assisted-suicide-poll-illinois-legislation-bryan-just.
Published “Killing Words: A Suicide by any Other Name Is Still a Suicide,” Salvo 69 (Summer 2024): https://salvomag.com/article/salvo69/killing-words.

Published “On Being Human: Reflections on Greta Gerwig’s Barbie Movie,” Intersections, January 25, 2024, https://www.cbhd.org/intersections/on-being-human-reflections-on-greta-gerwigs-barbie-movie.
Co-Presented a plenary address with Dr. Mihretu Guta entitled “In What Ways Can Technology be Idolatrous?” at CBHD’s summer conference.

Published “The Manhattan Project and the Seduction of Technology,” Intersections, March 11, 2024, https://www.cbhd.org/intersections/the-manhattan-project-and-the-seduction-of-technology.

Co-presented a daylong workshop on “Overtreatment and the Frail Elderly” at CBHD’s summer conference.
Interviewed Yves Moreau on “Dual-Use Technologies Surveillance of Ethnic Minorities” for The Bioethics Podcast: https://www.cbhd.org/podcast/dual-use-technologies-and-genetic-surveillance-of-ethnic-minorities-in-china-an-interview-with-yves-moreau
Published “Dual-Use Technology and Research Ethics: Interview with Yves Moreau,” Mind Matters News, April 28, 2024, https://mindmatters.ai/2024/04/dual-use-technology-and-research-ethics-interview-with-yves-moreau/.
Discussed bioethics and science news topics on Faith Radio’s Mornings with Carmen.