Center for Clinical Ethics and Humanities in Health Care

Bioethics Bulletin

December 1997
Volume Four, Number Twelve

Co-Directors: Gerald Logue, MD and Stephen Wear, PhD
Associate Director: Jack Freer, MD
Research Associate: Adrianne McEvoy
Address: Center for Clinical Ethics and Humanities in Health Care
Veteran's Affairs Medical Center
3495 Bailey Avenue Buffalo, NY 14215

Telephone: 862-3412 FAX: 862-4748
Website: http://wings.buffalo.edu/faculty/research/bioethics/
Send E-mail to: wear@acsu.buffalo.edu.

Newsletter Distribution

This newsletter can be delivered to you via e-mail or fax or over the internet (forward your request to: Jack Freer, MD at: jfreer@buffalo.edu). If you prefer fax, call 862-3412 and leave your fax number. We encourage and appreciate the use of e-mail and fax distribution rather than paper for the newsletter.

Center Listservers

The Center now maintains two automated e-mail listservers. BIOETH-LIST is primarily designed for those in the Greater Buffalo area and permits subscribers to post to the list. This list is available for posting local announcements, as well as a medium for discussion of relevant topics. It will also distribute the Center newsletter, "Bioethics Bulletin." If you are on this list, you can send a message to the entire list by addressing the message to: BIOETH-LIST@listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu. Archives of old BIOETH-LIST messages are maintained at: http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/archives/bioeth-list.html

BIOBUL-LIST is strictly used for distribution of "Bioethics Bulletin" and is mainly for those outside of Western New York. If you have further questions about this service, contact Jack Freer at 887-4852 or at: jfreer@buffalo.edu.

Center Website Added To Episteme Links

We are proud to announce that the Center’s website has been included at Episteme Links, a philosophy resources website with links to hundreds of print journals, electronic journals, e-texts, newsgroups, discussion lists and other philosophy-related publications. For further information, contact: philo@arrowweb.com or visit the Episteme Links website: http://www.arrowweb.com/philo/

Upcoming Center Meetings

The Center currently has three committees: Community Affairs, Education and Research. All Center members are welcome to participate in these committees.

Community Affairs

Wednesday, December 17. Ethics Grand Rounds, Sponsored by Kenmore Mercy Hospital Ethics Committee. 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM. Robert Klocke, MD, Professor and Chairman, Department of Medicine, and former Head of Pulmonary Division, SUNY-Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Research, will speak on "Ethical Issues Surrounding Ventilator Support." Kenmore Mercy Hospital Community Conference Room. Park to the left (south) side of hospital (corner of Elmwood and Westchester streets). Coffee and refreshments starting at 7:30 AM. For details, call Betty at 447-6100. All institutional ethics committee members of Western New York are invited to attend this Kenmore Mercy Hospital's IEC Educational Meeting.

Reading Group

The Center’s Reading Group will reconvene its regular meeting, after a summer hiatus. For the Fall semester, the Group will be focusing on the book The Healer’s Power by Howard Brody, MD. On Wednesday, Dec. 10, at 4:00 PM, co-director Stephen Wear, will discuss chapters 6-7. The meetings are held at the Center for Inquiry, 1310 Sweet Home Road, between Maple and Rensch Roads in Amherst. Meetings are open to all interested parties. To receive copies of the reading material, or for further information, contact Adrianne McEvoy at 862-3412.

Upcoming Lectures

Tuesday, December 9. "Neurology’s Role in the Medical Crimes of the Third Reich." Presenter: Michael Shevell, McGill University. 4:00 - 6:00 PM. Joint Centre for Bioethics, 88 College Street, Great Hall, Philippa Harris Bioethics Library, Toronto. This seminar is being presented by the History of Medicine Program at the University of Toronto. For more information, contact Andrea Clarke at 416-978-5256.

Tuesday, December 16. A One-Day Bioethics Symposium in memory of Benjamin Freedman. Sir Mortimer B. Davis-Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montreal. The symposium is being sponsored by the McGill Centre for Translational Research in Cancer, the McGill Biomedical Ethics Unit, and the Jewish General Hospital Research Ethics Office. The invited speakers are: Robert Levine, Sam Gorovitz, Abbyanne Lynch, Arthur Caplan, Charles Weijer, Francoise Baylis. For more information, please contact Dr. Gerald Batist, McGill University Centre for Translational Research in Cancer, phone: 514-340-7915; fax: 514-340-7916; e-mail: GBatist@onc.JGH.McGill.ca.

Thursday, December 18. "The Gene Shop: Peddling Public Awareness at Manchester Airport." Presenter: Alison Thompson, University of Central Lancashire. Mount Sinai Hospital, 600 University Avenue, Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Room 968, Toronto. 12:00 Noon - 1:00 PM.

Seminar in Psychosocial Genetics to be Offered at Roswell Park

Howard J. Allen, PhD, MSW, will be giving a course on ethical issues raised by the Human Genome Project. The seminar, which has no prerequisites, will be held Thursdays from Noon to 12:50 PM, in the Research Studies Center Room 400, Roswell Park Cancer Institute. The course description states: "The Human Genome Project has stimulated recent and continuing advances in molecular genetics that are making it possible to define the history and to predict the future of an individual. This developing capability has raised many issues that have promoted discussion, debate and action by the biomedical, sociological and legislative communities. The objective of this course is to present, discuss and generate awareness of developing medical, social, ethical and legal issues emanating from current advances in genetics and how these issues may impact on individuals, families and society. The course will consider, but not be limited to, issues of predictive testing, confidentiality, privacy, insurability, employability, right-to-know, genetic legislation, standards of care, reproduction planning, protection from research risks, and economics. The course will provide an appropriate elective for students from a variety of disciplines ranging from cancer biologists to social workers." For additional information, call Dr. Allen at 845-5725.

Center Website now Part of Healthlink.net

Healthlink.net directory, one of the most comprehensive online directories available specifically for the use of healthcare professionals, has accepted the Center’s website. Linking to this site has helped to further the Center’s online traffic. John Morley and Stan Gelber, Healthlinks.net’s partners, sent the following message: "We are pleased to recognize the work and skill that has gone into your website and happy to be able to contribute to its success by including it in our directory."

Society for Health and Human Values Regional Meeting

The Society for Health and Human Values announces its Spring Regional Meeting, April 17-19, 1998, at Youngstown State University, Youngstown, Ohio. The theme of the meeting is: "Whose Ethics? Which Medicine?: The Tacit and Explicit Development of a Medical Ethics", sponsored by the Dr. James Dale Ethics Center at Youngstown State University. Medical ethics has come of age as an area of scholarship and research. Its scholars and researchers have made substantial contributions to public policy and to the public awareness of problems in the clinic and the laboratory. But all of this activity has posed new questions for practioners of these arts. This conference will provide a forum to examine the ways in which different approaches to bioethics determine our conception of medicine and its ethical issues, and it will consider the origins of medical ethics and knowledge of medicine. Speakers include Charles Bosk, Howard Brody, Tod Chambers, Larry Churchill, Richard B. Miller, Christine Mitchell, Rosa Lynn Pinkus, and Rosemary Tong. For information, contact: Jody Chicester, Center for Medical Ethics, 3708 Fifth Avenue, Suite 300, Pittsburgh, PA 15213.

University of South Florida Medical Ethics Program

The Ethics Center at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg is now offering a certificate program in Medical Ethics that addresses the pressing ethical education needs of area hospitals, health care professionals, and health care recipients. It includes required research and course work that is both theoretical and applied. To qualify for admission, applicants should have a Bachelor of Arts degree or its equivalent. Applications may be obtained by writing to: The Ethics Center, 100 Fifth Avenue South, St. Petersburg, Florida 333701-5016. The Ethics Center also publishes a Medical Ethics Newsletter twice a year that summarizes the medical ethics activities and events associated with the Center. To subscribe, send $30 to the address above.

Advanced European Bioethics Course

The Advanced European Bioethics Course will be held in Nijmegen, The Netherlands on April 2-4, 1998. The theme of this year’s course is "Ethics and Palliative Care." For more information and application forms, contact: Bert Gordijn, PhD, Department of Ethics, Philosophy and History of Medicine, Catholic University of Nijmegen, PO Box 9101, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; tel: int+31-24-361-5320; fax: int+31-24-354-0254; e-mail: b.gordijn@efg.kun.nl ; website: www.azn.nl/fmw/maatschp/pallial.htm.

Summer Institute in Health Care Ethics

The Department of Medical History and Ethics at the University of Washington School of Medicine will be hosting a Summer Seminar in Health Care Ethics from August 3-7, 1998. Albert Jonsen will lead the seminar and Ruth Macklin will be the guest faculty member. For more information, and to be placed on the mailing list to receive full details (in March 1998), contact: Marilyn J. Barnard, Program Coordinator, Medical History and Ethics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-7120; tel: 206-616-1864; fax: 206-685-7515; e-mail: mbarnard@u.washington.edu.

Discovery Channel Highlights Debate on Genetic Engineering

A Panel Discussion on Genetic Engineering will be part of the continuing "Discovery Debates" series, on the Discovery Channel, December 20, 1997 at 8:00 PM EST; December 21 at 12 Midnight EST; and December 27, 1997 at 2:00 PM EST. Laura Shanner of the University of Toronto’s Joint Centre for Bioethics and Department of Philosophy, will be a featured speaker. For more information, contact 1-800-370-2332 orcomments@discovery.ca.

Members Corner

The Members Corner is designed to note research, presentations and published articles and books by Center members. Please send all such information to the newsletter editor so that the Center can keep members informed about the work occurring in this area.

Comments and Suggestions

Your comments and suggestions regarding this newsletter are encouraged. Please send them to the Center address, or by e-mail to the newsletter editor, Tim Madigan timmadigan@aol.com. We also need information on upcoming events that would be of interest to Center members. The deadline for the next newsletter is December 15th.