Eugenics & Emerging Technologies: Bioethics in the Shadow of Auschwitz?

November 6, 2006

Friday, November 10, 2006
National Press Club
Washington, D.C.

Emerging technologies promise to correct all that ails humankind and even boast the possibility of enhancing human abilities. But when do such “corrections” and “enhancements” – even with the best intentions – become eugenic? What roles do lessons from the past and key concerns of bioethics play in this Brave New World? And, even before such interventions become possible, we confront the “passive” issues of our fast-expanding genetic information – from who gets to access it to how it should be used.

To address these issues, the Institute on Biotechnology and the Human Future (IBHF) at Chicago-Kent College of Law/Illinois Institute of Technology is hosting a free conference that brings together some of the key voices in our discussion of the technology of the 21st century:

• Keynoter Paul Lombardo, Ph.D., J.D., professor of law at Georgia State University and author of the forthcoming book, The One Sure Cure: Eugenics, the Supreme Court and Buck v. Bell;
• Ron Bailey, science correspondent for Reason Magazine;
• Sujatha Byravan, Ph.D., president of the Council for Responsible Genetics;
• Marsha Darling, Ph.D., professor of history and interdisciplinary studies, director of the African American & Ethnic Studies Program at Adelphi University, and IBHF fellow;
• Kevin FitzGerald, Ph.D., S.J., professor of Catholic Health Care Ethics at Georgetown University and IBHF fellow;
• Kathy Hudson, Ph.D., director of the Genetics and Public Policy Center, and associate professor in the Berman Bioethics Institute, Institute of Genetic Medicine, and the Department of Pediatrics at The Johns Hopkins University;
• Andrew Imparato, J.D., president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities;
• George Khushf, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy and director of humanities at the Bioethics Center at University of South Carolina;
• Abby Lippman, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health at McGill University, president of the Canadian Women’s Health Network, and IBHF affiliated scholar;
• Ann Parson, science journalist and author of The Proteus Effect: Stem Cells and Their Promise for Medicine,;
• David Prentice, Ph.D., senior fellow for life sciences at the Family Research Council and IBHF fellow;
• Sonia E. Miller, J.D., M.B.A., M.S.Ed., president of the Converging Technologies Bar Association and principal of the S.E. Miller Law Firm;
• C. Ben Mitchell, Ph.D., associate professor of bioethics and contemporary culture at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and IBHF fellow;
• Stuart Newman, Ph.D., professor of cell biology and anatomy at New York Medical College and IBHF fellow;
• Judy Norsigian, executive director of Our Bodies, Ourselves and IBHF fellow;
• Christine Rosen, Ph.D., author of Preaching Eugenics: Religious Leaders and the American Eugenics Movement;
• Charles Rubin, Ph.D., associate professor of political science at Duquesne University, IBHF fellow, and author of the forthcoming book Why Be Human? Defending Progress Against Its Friends;
• William Saletan, national correspondent and columnist for Slate.com;
• Cynthia Schneider, Ph.D., distinguished professor in the practice of diplomacy in the School of Foreign Service and director of the Life Sciences and Society Initiative, and former U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands; and
• Ullica Segerstrale, Ph.D., professor of sociology at IIT and author of Defenders of the Truth: The Battle for Science in the Sociobiology Debate and Beyond.

The event will be chaired by Nigel M. de S. Cameron, Ph.D., president of IBHF and associate dean and research professor of bioethics at Chicago-Kent College of Law/IIT.

To RSVP or for more information, contact
Institute on Biotechnology and the Human Future
E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: 312.906.5337

Co-sponsored by: Family Research Council and International Center for Technology Assessment