bioethics.com

Virtual Therapy? Navigating AI-Powered Interventions for Mental Health
2025-12-12 12:00 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Online
Generative AI has the potential to expand access to mental health support and treatment. From apps to bots to “therapy” modes within larger systems, anyone with a smartphone in their palm now has access to countless tools that implicitly and/ or explicitly promise to improve mental health. Alongside this rapid technological expansion and innovation, however, accounts of serious negative outcomes associated with these AI innovations, including user suicide, are emerging. In addition, our nation’s youth may be particularly susceptible to the risks – known and unknown – of these AI-powered tools and systems.
In this seminar, three experts join Center Director Rebecca Brendel MD, JD in elucidating:

what we know (and don’t know) about the benefits and harms of AI-powered interventions for mental health,
core ethical concerns and guiding principles for the future, and
possible paths forward to enable innovation and access while also advancing benefit and safety.

Speakers:
Marlynn Wei, MD, JD
Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist, and Author
Marlynn Wei, MD, JD is a psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and author whose writing on AI and mental health for Psychology Today has reached nearly 4 million readers. Her expertise on AI therapy, AI companions, and AI-mediated delusions has been featured on CBS Mornings, CNN, PBS, and The Huffington Post. She is a graduate of Yale School of Medicine and Yale Law School and completed her psychiatry residency at Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean, where she served as chief resident and received the Anne Alonso Psychotherapy Award. Dr. Wei specializes in psychodynamic and experiential therapy for professionals in her New York City practice.
Andrew Clark, MD
Child, Adult and Forensic Psychiatrist
Andrew Clark, MD is a forensic, child, and adult psychiatrist with a private practice in Cambridge. He was on the faculty of Harvard Medical School for 20 years, working as the Medical Director of the Children and the Law Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. He subsequently joined the faculty at Boston University School of Medicine, where he served as Director of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry in addition to Medical Director of Outpatient Psychiatry. He has maintained an active treatment practice of child, adolescent, and adult psychiatry throughout his career, and also worked for sixteen years as the Director of Psychiatry Services at the Suffolk County House of Correction.
Ryan K. McBain, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine at HMS
Ryan K. McBain, PhD is a health economist whose work focuses on improving access to mental health and substance use services, both in the U.S. and internationally. He specializes in analyzing supply-side constraints and evaluating the effectiveness of digital technologies—including telehealth and generative AI—in expanding care. His has published over 100 articles in leading academic journals such as The Lancet, JAMA Psychiatry, and Health Affairs. He is also a regular contributor to the public discourse on technology and mental healthcare, with his research and commentaries featured in major media outlets such as The New York Times, Washington Post, and LA Times.
Moderator:
Rebecca Brendel, MD, JD
Director of the Center for Bioethics at HMS
Rebecca Brendel, MD, JD is the Director of the Center for Bioethics, Frances Glessner Lee Associate Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine in the Field of Legal Medicine and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. She bases her clinical work in psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) where she is the director of Law and Ethics at the Center for Law, Brain, and Behavior, provides medical oversight for the hospital’s inpatient guardianship team, and practices clinical and forensic psychiatry. She is a past president of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) from 2022 to 2023, of which she is a distinguished fellow. Dr. Brendel is also a past president and fellow of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (2018-2019). She is currently co-opted consultant to the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) Ethics Committee and in her final of a seven-year appointment to the American Medical Association Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (CEJA), of which she presently serves as Chair.

Existential Issues for Species: Deextinction and Deliberate Extinction
2025-12-12 08:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | Online
From the dire wolf to the screwworm, scientists are turning the tools of genetics to the elimination–and recreation–of entire nonhuman species. This webinar explores how and why genetic technologies might be used to eradicate some species and recreate others, with a focus on recent efforts and near future possibilities. The ethics of manipulating other species in these ways will then be considered: How should risks and benefits be understood and weighed? How might both deextinction and deliberate extinction challenge and alter understandings of the human relationship to nature? And how should such existential decisions be made?
Panelists:
Gregory Kaebnick, PhD, Beth Shapiro, PhD
Moderator:
Alta Charo, JD
Register!

Ethics Grand Rounds: All May Not Be What it Seems: Dementia Diagnosis & Elder Mistreatment
2025-12-11 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Denver) | Online
This virtual event will feature a compelling discussion led by Elizabeth Bloemen, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics, CU School of Medicine.
Please note, the views expressed are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect those of the Center or UCHealth. We encourage open dialogue and critical thinking as we explore these topics together.
Certificates of Participation and CME Credit will be offered for live participation* from the CU Center for Bioethics and Humanities are available upon request.

MBE/MSME Alumni Colloquium: “Ensuring Ethical Approaches to Xenotransplantation”
2025-12-08 17:00 - 18:00 (America/New_York) | Hybrid, PA
Speaker: Laura Kimberly, PhD, MBE
BIO: Laura L. Kimberly, PhD, MSW, MBE is an Assistant Professor in the Hansjörg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery and the Division of Medical Ethics in the Department of Population Health at New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine. Her research explores ethical and psychosocial implications of innovative surgical interventions, with a focus on health equity and quality of life across the lifespan. She has published extensively on ethical and psychosocial considerations in vascularized composite allotransplantation, xenotransplantation, and innovations in solid organ donation and transplantation. Dr. Kimberly is a faculty collaborator in the NYU Center for Surgical and Transplant Applied Research and a member of the NYU Transplant Ethics and Policy Research Program Advisory Board. Beyond NYU, she serves on the Executive Committee of the American Society of Transplantation’s Psychosocial and Ethics Community of Practice.
Click here for the full list of Alumni Speaker Series talks

The Hippocratic Society Conference - Call for Abstracts: Hope In & For Medicine
2026-01-31 | Online
Burnout, moral distress, workforce shortages, institutional pressures, financial conflicts of interest, professional creep, intractable pain, uncertain diagnoses… many forces in healthcare today feel overwhelming. Against such challenges, individual action can seem futile.
What can one clinician do to change a reimbursement structure? What can a student do in the face of entrenched institutional dysfunction? How do we pursue a more beautiful practice of medicine when time and clarity feel increasingly scarce?
We propose that healthcare today needs the virtue of Hope.
Hope acts now for the sake of a future good. It embraces uncertainty yet moves forward in the face of it. Hope envisions a better future aligned with medicine’s deepest commitments and sustains us as we work to build it, especially when outcomes are not guaranteed.
At this year’s conference, we will explore the virtue of Hope in medicine:

How can we cultivate hope with and for our patients, colleagues, and institutions?
How do we sustain hope in medical education and clinical formation?
How do we maintain hope in our own lives as clinicians and trainees?
What is the good we seek, and what practices help us persevere toward it?
For what and for whom are we hoping?

We welcome abstracts from physicians, faculty, trainees, and students reflecting on Hope, virtue, clinical experience, or any topic connected to the Hippocratic Society’s mission. See suggested topics below.
Abstract Submissions
Abstracts can address the following format/presentations:

Research – Qualitative, theoretical, or educational research
Essays/Narrative – Narrative medicine or philosophical/ethical exploration
Creative Piece – Poetry, short stories, visual art, audio/film
Workshop – Interactive sessions, case discussions, or virtue-related skill development

Abstract should be 300-500 words and include 1-3 learning objectives.
All submissions are due by 11:59 pm on January 31st.
Submissions will be reviewed by our Conference Planning Committee, and decisions will be returned by February 28th.
Please email contact@hippsoc.org with any questions.
Submit Here
Suggested Topics
Themes Specifically Related to Hope

Hope as a virtue in clinical practice
Hope in medical training and formation
Sustaining hope amid uncertainty, suffering, and complexity
Hope and moral distress; hope and renewal
Hope for institutions, communities, and the future of medicine

Topics Drawn from the Hippocratic Society’s Mission

Moral and professional formation of clinicians
Character development and the virtues of the good physician
The role of community, mentorship, and “moral friendship” in becoming a good clinician
The nature, purpose, and ends of medicine
The meaning of suffering, illness, healing, and dying well
Good clinical judgement (prudence) and its cultivation
The clinician-patient relationship
Challenges of corporatization, demoralization, and the “provider” identity
Experiences from Hippocratic Fora, Symposia, or chapter activities

Other Eligible Topics

Narrative accounts of clinicians or patients
Reflections on teaching virtue or ethics
Educational innovation related to formation
Research for flourishing, burnout, moral injury, purpose, or medical culture

Unrepresented: The Ethics of Caring for Patients Without Surrogates
2025-12-02 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Chicago) | Online
Description and Learning Objectives: Coming Soon
About the Series
Unpacking Bedside Bioethics is a quarterly professional development clinical ethics webinar series delivered by the Center for Bioethics. Speakers identify ethical dilemmas in clinical cases, and discuss how to apply bioethical concepts and frameworks to navigate those dilemmas.
Upon request, Zoom attendees will receive a Certificate of Attendance to apply for Continuing Education Units for their respective professions. We are not able to offer CEUs directly to attendees. Please note, you must attend a minimum of 75% of the talk to receive a certificate. Each talk will be recorded & posted with our other event recordings. Certificates of Attendance will not be given for watching the recording – only for those attending the Zoom session.
Health professions students are eligible for IPE credit. IPE credit is available only to webinar attendees who are present for 75% or more of the talk, participate in a short IPE breakout session immediately following the talk, and complete a written reflection form following that breakout session.
Speaker(s)
Jaime Konerman-Sease, PhD, HEC-C, is a Clinical Ethics Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota Center for Bioethics. She is a member of the team at the Center for Bioethics that provides clinical ethics services for the MHealth Fairview System. Her role includes clinical ethics consultation, policy development, and education for all hospitals in the MHealth Fairview system. Additionally, she is a member of the UMMC Ethics Committee.
Dr. Konerman-Sease’s academic work focuses on Disability Bioethics, Medicine and Literature, and Religious Bioethics. By drawing from historical sources, she highlights novel solutions to modern-day health care problems. Her current project draws on the novels of Jane Austen to provide solutions to the marginalization of patients with chronic and incurable illnesses in Medicine. Her future work will continue to focus on the intersection of Medicine, Literature, Theology and Disability.
Dr. Konerman-Sease completed her PhD in Health Care Ethics and Theology at Saint Louis University in 2022. Konerman-Sease was a 2020-2021 Student Intern for Ethics and Theology at CommonSpirit Health, where she assisted in clinical ethics consultation, policy development, and scarce resource allocation. She received the 2023 Emerging Scholar Award from the Institute on Theology and Disability for her doctoral work on chronic illness, Jane Austen, and Christian theology.

CARE Panel: The End of Animal Models for Preclinical Research?
2025-12-01 12:00 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Online
As AI and computational modeling transform research, scientists are reexamining the role of animal models in scientific research and drug discovery. This discussion explores the ethical and practical implications of reducing animal testing in light of a recent federal push to do so. Panelists will consider the possibilities, limitations, and trade-offs of technological innovation in advancing humane and effective research.
Panelists:

Allyson Bennett | Professor of Psychology, College of Letters & Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Christine Petersen | Associate Dean for Research, College of Veterinary Medicine, OSU
Naomi Scheinerman | Assistant Professor of Bioethics, College of Medicine, OSU
Seth Weinberg | Associate Dean for Research, College of Engineering, Professor, Biomedical Engineering, OSU

Register at go.osu.edu/care-animals

Moving Beyond 'First Do No Harm'
2025-11-26 18:00 - 19:00 (America/Chicago) | Online
Bios associate fellow Dr Toni Saad will be speaking to us on Wednesday 26 November at 6pm GMT on the topic ‘Moving Beyond “Do No Harm.”‘
Dr Saad is a specialty registrar in neurology at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. He gained a master’s degree in bioethics and medical law from St Mary’s University while studying medicine at Cardiff University, and has published in journals such as the Journal of Medical Ethics and Bioethics, notably on the subject of conscientious objection in healthcare.
We look forward to a thought-provoking seminar and hope that you can join us.
For any queries regarding the meeting, please contact Dr Ilaria Bertini at ibertini@bioscentre.org.

PGTME's 6th Annual Lunchtime Lecture Series: "Improving Patient Access for Gene and Cell Therapies: A Financial Engineering Perspective"
2025-11-21 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | Online
Please save the date for this wonderful annual FREE event hosted by the Working Group on Pediatric Gene Therapy & Medical Ethics (PGTME), in the Division of Medical Ethics, NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
It’s that time of year! PGTME’s 6th Annual Lunchtime Lecture Series will be held virtually during the week of November 17-21 from 12-1:15pm ET daily. Please join us for a week of sessions on pressing topics in the gene therapy space featuring expert speakers and audience Q&A. All sessions are free, virtual, and open to the public!
We are thrilled to announce the Friday session of the 2025 Lunchtime Lecture Series, to be held from 12-1:5pm ET on November 21: “Improving Patient Access for Gene and Cell Therapies: A Financial Engineering Perspective,” presented by Andrew Lo, AM, PhD. Dr. Lo is the Charles E. and Susan T. Harris Professor at MIT Sloan School of Management and Director of the MIT Laboratory for Financial Engineering.
The schedule and speakers for the rest of the Lecture Series will be announced in the coming weeks, and REGISTRATION FOR ALL FIVE DAYS IS OPEN! Please save the date on your calendars today by registering HERE. You may register for as many or as few sessions as you are interested in attending.

Artificial Womb Technologies – Ethics of Innovation at the Edge of Viability
2025-11-17 17:15 - 18:45 (America/New_York) | Biomedical Research Building, Room 251, 421 Curie Blvd, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, United States
BIO: Ryan M. Antiel, MD, MSME, FACS is Associate Professor of Pediatric Surgery at Duke University School of Medicine and Associate Director at the Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities, and History of Medicine. He is focused on improving the lives of children and families confronted with difficult decisions such as surgical decision-making in the face of uncertainty and end-of-life issues.

PGTME's 6th Annual Lunchtime Lecture Series
2025-11-17 12:00 - 2025-11-21 13:30 (America/New_York) | Online
The Working Group on Pediatric Gene Therapy & Medical Ethics (PGTME) at NYU Grossman School of Medicine will host its 6th Annual FREE Lunchtime Lecture Series during the week of November 17-21 from 12-1:15pm ET daily. Please join us for a week of virtual sessions on pressing topics in the gene therapy space featuring expert speakers and audience Q&A. All sessions are free, virtual, and open to the public! This year’s Lecture Series will feature sessions on bioethics basics, evidence and drug approval, communication and data sharing, ethical principles in research and development of genomic medicines, and the economics of rare disease. Please register HERE.
For questions, please contact:
Ayden Eilmus (she/they)
Program Coordinator, Pediatric Gene Therapy and Medical Ethics Working Group (PGTME)
Division of Medical Ethics
NYU Grossman School of Medicine
ayden.eilmus@nyulangone.org

ELSI Friday Forum: What do Researchers Owe the Autistic Community they Study?
2025-11-14 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | Online
Speakers: Monique Botha, PhD, Tara Eicher, PhD
Moderator: Ari Ne’eman, PhD
Abstract: Genomic and other research that impacts the Autistic community has received growing national and international attention in the past few years. While investment in Autism research raises hopes for improved health outcomes in this population, it also raises a host of concerns. Which types of genomic studies promote community benefits? Who defines the benefits of genomic research? What measures should be taken to ensure that data collected from Autistic individuals is not used in ways that cause harm? Exploring cases in the US and the UK, this session will consider the responsibilities of Autism researchers to individuals and the community studied, including promotion of wellbeing, implementation, and best practices for engagement and communication of study results.

Navigating a Crisis of Trust: The 2025 William C. Stubing Memorial Lecture
2025-11-13 17:30 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | Hybrid, PA
About this Event
On November 13, 2025, The Greenwall Foundation will host this year’s William C. Stubing Memorial Lecture in person in New York City and online. Robert Califf, MD, former Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Instructor in Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at Duke University School of Medicine, will discuss the growing crisis of trust in science, medicine, and public health—and the ethics challenges and opportunities it presents for shaping policy and practice in uncertain times. Dr. Califf will be joined in conversation by Matthew Herper, an award-winning journalist and Senior Writer covering medicine at STAT.
Register to attend the event in person by clicking the “Get Tickets” button. Registration is free and open to all, but in-person seating is limited.
To register for the livestream, click here.
For more information, please visit greenwall.org/events.

“Personhood: The New Civil War over Reproduction”
2025-11-11 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Chicago) | Online
J. Richard Williams Sr, MD 1931 Lecture, presented by
The Program in Medical Ethics and Human Values
Tulane University School of Medicine
A discussion of the new frontier in conflict over reproduction—the fight over whether rights begin at fertilization—and what it means for the law to value life before birth.
Speaker:
Dr. Mary Ziegler
Mary Ziegler is a Guggenheim Fellow, the author of seven books, and one of the leading historians of conflicts over reproduction in the United States.
This activity has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™

Moral Distress and Burnout Among OB-GYNs After Dobbs
2025-11-07 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Chicago) | Online
Since the US Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, 17 U.S. states have functionally banned abortion, creating clinical and ethical challenges for physicians practicing in these jurisdictions. In this presentation, Dr. Buchbinder will present findings from her qualitative research with obstetrician-gynecologists (OB-GYNs) providing care in states with abortion bans. Findings reveal pervasive impacts of state abortion bans on OB-GYNs—including moral distress, conflicts with clinical colleagues, health and wellbeing consequences, and reduced job satisfaction—with implications for physician health, workforce sustainability, and patient outcomes. Institutional practices to support and protect OB-GYNs in restrictive policy environments may help to mitigate the impacts of abortion bans on physicians’ wellbeing.
Learning Objectives: After this webinar, attendees will be able to:

Understand how abortion laws and policies are impacting the ability to provide comprehensive reproductive health care.
Describe ethical challenges that abortion bans raise for physicians.
Identify tangible solutions for supporting and improving professional wellbeing among clinicians engaged in reproductive healthcare.

This is an event of the Office of Academic Clinical Affairs (OACA), hosted by the Center for Bioethics, and co-sponsored by the following U of MN Units: Program in Health Disparities Research, Medical School; Center for Race, Indigeneity, Disability, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, College of Liberal Arts; Community-University Health Care Center (CUHCC); Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, College of Liberal Arts; Center for the Study of Political Psychology, College of Liberal Arts; Masonic Cancer Center (MCC); Minnesota Population Center; Healthy Weight Research Center; Rural Health Research Center; Business Advancement Center for Health (BACH), Carlson School of Management, College of Pharmacy; Medical School; School of Public Health; School of Nursing.
Participants are eligible to receive a Certificate of Attendance to submit to their respective professions for CEUs. Certificates of Attendance are available only to webinar attendees who are present for 75% or more of the talk.
Health professions students are eligible for IPE credit. IPE credit is available only to webinar attendees who are present for 75% or more of the talk and complete a written reflection form.
This talk will be recorded and posted with our other event recordings.
Speaker(s)
Mara Buchbinder, PhD, is Professor and Chair of Social Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as core faculty in the University of North Carolina Center for Bioethics. Dr. Buchbinder is a medical anthropologist with broad interests in cultures of health, illness, and medicine in the United States. Her recent work focuses on how patients, families, and healthcare providers navigate social and ethical challenges resulting from changes in medical technology, law, and health policy.

Oaths and Expertise: The Bioethical Consequences of Health Policy as Medical Decision-Making
2025-10-31 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Chicago) | Online
In this session, participants will explore the shifting health policy climate towards one that is more pervasive and invasive in medical practice. Whether via bans on youth gender care, curtailing of publicly funded insurance eligibility, or policies that shape access to reproductive healthcare (to name just a few), the laws, litigation and regulations that impact access to medical care are exerting more power over the pursuit of health than ever before. Dr. McNamara will review the history of health policy in pediatrics and reproductive medicine up until present day and explore emerging trends. She will then build the argument that policy functions as medical care, and operates without the self-regulating guardrails that shape medical practice. If we hold health policy to bioethical standards, perhaps we can conceptualize an idealized framework by which policy and healthcare should intersect.
Learning Objectives: After this webinar, attendees will be able to:

Define policy, health policy, the social contract and bioethically sound health policy.
Describe the past and present relationships between policy and healthcare with historical examples.
Conceptualize emerging trends in health policy and apply bioethical principles to their impacts.
Build a shared understanding of effective engagement in health policy development processes.

This is an event of the Office of Academic Clinical Affairs (OACA), hosted by the Center for Bioethics.
Speaker(s)
Meredithe McNamara, MD, MS, FAAP, is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Yale School of Medicine and Affiliate Faculty in the Yale Institute for Global Health. Dr. McNamara is a board-certified pediatrician and Adolescent Medicine specialist who provides full spectrum healthcare to adolescents and young adults aged 11-25. This care encompasses, among others, mental health, substance use, eating disorders, sexual health, menstrual disorders, harm reduction, gender diversity, and general primary care in community and school-based settings. In addition to her work as a practicing clinician, she conducts research on scientific disinformation in health policy that impacts youth access to healthcare. As the Co-Director of the Integrity Project, her research and writing is operationalized in policy processes via testimony, public comments and litigation. She has testified in several state-based litigation processes challenging state-level bans on youth gender care, and before US Congress. She has co-authored numerous amicus briefs, including one filed with the US Supreme Court. Her work is inherently multi-disciplinary and she collaborates with legal/policy scholars, bioethicists, scientific subject matter experts and, most importantly, members of the communities most impacted by policies of interest.

Ethics for Lunch with Dr. Tia Powell: What Bad Cases Teach Us
2025-10-30 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | Inperson, 3640 Colonel Glenn Highway,, Dayton,, OH, 45435, United States
Dr. Tia Powell, former Director of the Masters of Bioethics Program at Montefiore Einstein and one of the nation’s leading bioethicists, will engage in an interactive discussion of clinical ethics case.
Speaker:
Tia Powell, M.D., Professor of Epidemiology and Psychiatry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center; Cofounder, Slow Code Media
Moderated by: Robert Klitzman, M.D., Program Director, Bioethics; Professor of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center
For further information, please contact Marie Gugnishev, mg4441@columbia.edu.

"Finding Moral Agency and Resisting Threats to Professional Identity"
2025-10-16 16:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Online
The Bioethics Network of Ohio (BENO) is hosting its next virtual education seminar on October 16th from 4-5pm Eastern with Dr. Sabrina Derrington.
Sabrina Derrington, MD, MA, HEC-C
Director, Center for Bioethics,
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics,
Keck School of Medicine of USC
When the ability for healthcare professionals to provide good patient care is constrained by political, legal, or economic forces, we can experience distress and threats to professional or personal identity. What does it mean to be a “good” clinician in these circumstances? In this session Dr. Derrington will consider the ethical obligations of individuals, professionals, and organizations in response to health injustice and offer steps healthcare professionals can take to reclaim moral agency and build moral community.
BENO Quarterly Education Sessions are held virtually on Zoom. They require prior registration but are open to all. In addition, individual & instutional BENO members have access to the recorded library of BENO Education Sessions.
You can register here
We hope to see many of you on October 16th and encourage you to share with colleagues, students, or friends you think may be interested in this education. You we welcome to reach out to me, or to our BENO administrator, with any question.

Children’s Autonomy in Health Care: "Medical Decision-Making for Minors: Two Puzzles"
2025-10-15 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | Online
Speaker
Joseph Millum
Senior Lecturer
St Andrews University
Dr. Millum is currently Senior Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at St Andrews University. He also serves as a consultant to the World Health Organisation and he is the Chairperson of the International Society for Priorities in Health. Prior to arriving at St Andrews, Dr. Millum worked at the US National Institutes of Health for 15 years – in the Clinical Center Department of Bioethics and the Fogarty International Center.
Dr. Millum’s research spans various topics in bioethics and applied ethics. These include: (1) Health care priority-setting; (2) Health research priority-setting; (3) Consent; (4) The ethics of research with human participants; (5) Bioethical theory; (6) The ethics of parenthood. His books include Global Justice and Bioethics (2012), The Moral Foundations of Parenthood (2018), Global Health Priority-Setting: Beyond Cost-Effectiveness (2020), and A Theory of Bioethics (2021).
Abstract
This talk will engage two puzzles surrounding medical decision-making for older children and adolescents. The first concerns decision-making by minors. The law and professional guidelines typically support allowing minors over a certain age to make some decisions for themselves (e.g., regarding sexual health) but not others (e.g., refusal of life-saving care). This is puzzling because the same individual may be deemed competent to make one decision but not another, even though the decisions are equally complex. The second concerns decisions that are made on a child’s behalf. Parents frequently make decisions that are contrary to their children’s interests. This is puzzling because it appears to conflict with the “best interests” standard for pediatric decision-making.
In both cases, thinking about the philosophical foundations of clinical practice can help give principled guidance. Regarding decisions by minors, we can distinguish two rights that together constitute “decision-making capacity.” One is the power to waive one’s rights by giving consent; the other is a claim against others that they not interfere with one’s decisions. I suggest that individuals with borderline decision-making capacity can have the first but not the second—this explains why we should respect adolescent decisions that align with the patient’s interests and values, but can overrule decisions that are highly contrary to the adolescent’s interests. Regarding decisions made for minors, I argue that the “best interests” standard should be replaced by a “reasonable subject” standard. This standard would balance the interests of the child with the interests of others. It explains why parents can take their own needs into account in making decisions that affect their families and why it can be permissible to enroll young children into non-beneficial research studies, while still protecting children from choices that would sacrifice their well-being.
We are offering Continuing Education credit in Medicine, Nursing, and Social Work. To register to receive CE credit, click here (separate registration required).

35th Annual Jonathan J. King Lecture: "When Care Comes First: A Radical Reimagining of Medical Ethics"
2025-10-14 17:30 - 18:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Hybrid, PA
35th Annual Jonathan J. King Lecture
Join us on Tuesday, October 14th, 2025, at 5:30 pm (PDT) for our 35th Annual Jonathan J. King Lecture, “When Care Comes First: A Radical Reimagining of Medical Ethics” featuring Dr. Arthur Kleinman.
Arthur Kleinman, MD, author of the acclaimed The Illness Narratives: Suffering, Healing, and the Human Condition, is a world-renowned expert and luminary whose influential career spans anthropology, global health, ethics, psychiatry as well as narrative and cultural medicine. Educated at Stanford and a distinguished professor at Harvard for nearly five decades, Kleinman has notably served as Chair of both Harvard’s Department of Social Medicine and Department of Anthropology and directed Harvard’s Asia Center. He is also the author of multiple books, including The Soul of Care and co-editor of seminal volumes such as Reimagining Global Health. Kleinman’s prestigious accolades include membership in the National Academy of Medicine, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Franz Boas Award from the American Anthropological Association. A revered mentor, Kleinman has guided generations of scholars in transforming global perspectives on health and human suffering.
Registration links:
Virtual registration URL: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/r5fu2tf
In-person registration URL: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/v5fbema

Adoption on the Frontlines of Reproductive Justice
2025-10-10 12:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Online
In the intense US debate over access to abortion, opponents to access offer adoption as an alternative. In this seminar, an expert panel will delve into the legal and ethical issues in the American approach to adoption as an abortion alternative and the experiences women who have relinquished their children, framing adoption as an issue on the leading edge of reproductive justice. Support provided by the Oswald DeN. Cammann Fund at Harvard University.
Presenters:

Malinda Seymore, JD, Professor of Law, Texas A&M University School of Law
Gretchen Sisson, PhD, Sociologist, Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health, University of California San Francisco

Moderator:

Barbara Wilkinson, MD, MA, Instructor, Harvard Medical School; Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Register here to receive the Zoom link and call-in details in your automated confirmation email.

The seminar recording will be uploaded to our YouTube channel in the weeks following the event date, pending no technical issues. Registrants will receive a follow-up email containing the recording link when it is ready.

ELSI Friday Forum: "Knowing or Not Knowing: The Ethics of Returning Genetic Risk Information for Alzheimer's Disease"
2025-10-10 09:00 - 10:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
Abstract: The return of genetic and biomarker information in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research has emerged as a pressing ethical question as disease-modifying treatments become available and expectations around disclosure shift. This ELSI Friday Forum brings together two leading ELSI researchers whose work interrogates these tensions.
Jessica Mozersky, PhD (Washington University in St. Louis) will draw on findings from her recent cohort study evaluating who declines to learn AD biomarker results and will discuss the ethical significance of respecting the “right not to know.” Ruth Ottman, PhD (Columbia University) will present findings from her longitudinal community-based study of Latinos in northern Manhattan that examines the psychosocial, behavioral, and cognitive impacts of learning late-onset Alzheimer’s disease risk based on APOE genotype disclosure versus nondisclosure. Moderated by Emily Largent, JD, PhD, RN (University of Pennsylvania), this session will explore the ethical, cultural, and policy implications of returning AD genetic risk information.

Drug Use for Grown-ups: Where the Liberty, Policy and Science Collide
2025-10-09 16:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | Hybrid, PA
The Murphy Institute’s Center for Ethics will welcome Dr. Carl Hart as the featured speaker for the first installment of 2025-2026’s Public Lecture Series.
Dr. Carl Hart is the Mamie Phipps Clark Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at Columbia University, with a joint appointment in Psychiatry. A neuroscientist and psychologist, his research focuses on the behavioral and neuropharmacological effects of psychoactive drugs in humans. He is the author of the award-winning High Price and Drug Use for Grown-Ups, and co-author of the widely used textbook Drugs, Society and Human Behavior. Dr. Hart has published over 100 scientific and popular articles and received the 2022 Abraham L. Halpern Humanitarian Award for his contributions to human rights and drug policy reform. Through his research and public engagement, he continues to challenge misconceptions about addiction and promote science-based approaches to drug use and justice.
The Center for Ethics public lectures serve as a vital platform for intellectual exchange, where scholars and practitioners from a broad range of intellectual and professional disciplines and concerned citizens can engage with pressing ethical questions. Since 2001, the Center for Ethics has hosted more than 200 guest speakers discussing contemporary topics in ethics. Lectures are free and open to all members of the Tulane community as well as the general public.
This event is co-sponsored by Tulane University’s School of Medicine’s MS in Bioethics and Medical Humanities and The Program in Medical Ethics and Human Values. Tulane University’s Department of Psychology, and by 89.9 WWNO.
Live Stream: youtube.com/live/XCrR6T5bIUI

What You Don’t See Will Harm Them: Culturally Informed Care in a World of Hidden Values, Hidden Systems, and Hidden Harm
2025-10-09 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Denver) | Online
You are warmly invited to attend the upcoming Ethics Grand Rounds, hosted by the Clinical Ethics Education Council at the CU Center for Bioethics and Humanities. This live virtual event will feature a compelling discussion led by Dr. Chelsey Patten with Dr. Aasim Padela as a respondent!
Please feel free to share information about this event widely. Please note, the views expressed are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect those of the Center or UCHealth. We encourage open dialogue and critical thinking as we explore these topics together.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. Identify ethical considerations in discussing culturally or religiously sensitive aspects of medical treatment, with a focus on transparency, trust, and patient autonomy.
2. Analyze how hidden assumptions and incomplete informed consent processes impact patient-provider relationships and decision-making in culturally informed care.
3. Evaluate systemic barriers — such as inadequate EHR documentation, opaque pharmaceutical labeling, and workflow design — that limit the practice of culturally informed care.
Propose actionable strategies for clinicians, ethicists, and healthcare leaders to build systems that proactively integrate patient values into care planning.
CME Credit will be offered for live participation.*
Certificates of Participation from the CU Center for Bioethics and Humanities are available upon request.
Registration is required to attend. Follow this link to register!
For additional information or questions, please contact CBH Clinical Ethics.

Bioethics Information Session
2025-10-08 18:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | Online
Columbia University’s Master of Science in Bioethics program grounds students in interdisciplinary approaches and models to address the most pressing bioethical challenges. The Bioethics program prepares students to act as responsible and responsive leaders in this new and ever-growing field.
Join us for this session in which distinguished Bioethics faculty will provide you with insight into the program and answer any questions you may have about the courses they lead at Columbia University.

Public Perceptions of Health Equity and How Communication Can Shape Understanding and Action
2025-10-03 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Chicago) | Online
Health equity is a particularly politically-charged construct in the U.S. in 2025. However, public understanding of concepts related to health equity and health disparities has been polarized along political party lines for many years. Dr. Gollust will present survey data from 2020-2023 describing the extent of political differences in the public’s understanding of health disparities in the context of COVID-19, alongside qualitative data on public health communicators’ perspectives about their strategies addressing these topics within a challenging political information environment. Then, she will present emerging research that suggests how information can shape public understanding of health equity and influence public support for policies that could improve population health.
Learning Objectives: After this webinar, attendees will be able to:

Understand trends in public opinion about health disparities and related concepts in the United States.

Identify strategies communicators are using to try to promote public understanding of health equity.

Recognize evidence-based communication approaches that have promise in shaping public understanding of health equity.

This is an event of the Office of Academic Clinical Affairs (OACA), hosted by the Center for Bioethics.
Speaker(s)

Sarah Gollust, PhD, is a Professor in the Division of Health Policy and Management at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, as well as Affiliate Faculty in the Center for Bioethics. A social scientist who studies the intersections of communication, politics, and health policy, Dr. Gollust has examined media influences and public opinion around significant health issues, including obesity, health equity, the Affordable Care Act, and cancer screening. She also examines how research is translated into policymaking. She is a co-lead of the Collaborative on Media and Messaging for Health & Social Policy, an interdisciplinary group of researchers who study how media and messaging shape public opinions, attitudes, and behaviors. Dr. Gollust completed a predoctoral fellowship in Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health, a postdoctoral fellowship in population health at the University of Pennsylvania, and she received her PhD in Health Services Organization and Policy from the University of Michigan.

2025 Healthcare Ethics and Moral Distress Consultation Intensive Training Seminar
2025-09-28 09:00 - 2025-09-30 17:00 (America/New_York) | Inperson, 3640 Colonel Glenn Highway,, Dayton,, OH, 45435, United States
Join us September 28 through September 30, 2025, in beautiful Charlottesville, Virginia for our 13th annual Healthcare Ethics and Moral Distress Consultation Intensive Training Seminar. Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the grounds and gardens of the University of Virginia are the perfect setting for an immersive weekend spent developing or deepening your consultation knowledge and skills. kk
This intensive program is ideal for those looking to:

Deepen their practical knowledge of ethics consultation in clinical settings
Strengthen their ability to navigate complex moral challenges
Prepare with confidence for the Healthcare Ethics Consultation Certification exam
Develop/enhance skill in moral distress consultation

This training focuses on the key content domains outlined by the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities. Through interactive sessions, real-world case discussions, and expert-led instruction, participants will gain the tools and insights needed to lead with clarity and compassion in ethically complex situations.
You can view the 2024 syllabus here
Hotel discount available through September 6th, 2025.

REGISTRATION: The cost is $1,800/person for the complete course (Sunday through Tuesday) or $500/person for the Moral Distress Consultation sessions only (Tuesday, September 30). Pre-registration is required. Questions: PLEASE CONTACT: Charlene Kaufman @ cmk2b@uvahealth.org

2025 Healthcare Ethics and Moral Distress Consultation Intensive Training Seminar
2025-09-28 09:00 - 2025-09-30 17:00 (America/New_York) | Inperson, 3640 Colonel Glenn Highway,, Dayton,, OH, 45435, United States
Join us September 28 through September 30, 2025, in beautiful Charlottesville, Virginia for our 13th annual Healthcare Ethics and Moral Distress Consultation Intensive Training Seminar. Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the grounds and gardens of the University of Virginia are the perfect setting for an immersive weekend spent developing or deepening your consultation knowledge and skills.
This in-person, intensive 3-day training program is designed for multidisciplinary practicing healthcare professionals who wish to develop or deepen their healthcare ethics and moral distress consultation knowledge and skills and prepare for the healthcare ethics consultation certification exam. The training is grounded in the ASBH core competencies for healthcare ethics consultation and will emphasize the four content domains for certification determined by the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities. It is the only program in the United States to offer training in Moral Distress consultation, building on 18 years of experience at UVA Health. Participants will receive a certificate upon course completion. Registration details coming soon! You can view the 2024 syllabus here
FORMAT: This interactive and multidisciplinary seminar combines didactic sessions with case discussions and hands-on exercises. The course culminates with attendance at UVA’s weekly Healthcare Ethics and Moral Distress Consult Services meeting.
SCHEDULE: The program begins at 9 am Sunday, September 28 and ends at 2 pm on Tuesday, September 30. Sunday and Monday are dedicated to healthcare ethics consultation. Tuesday focuses solely on moral distress consultation and can be attended independent of the rest of the program.
PREREQUISITES: Participants will be expected to obtain and read Core Competencies for Ethics Consultation prior to the training (available at www.asbh.org).
REGISTRATION: The cost is $1,800/person for the complete course (Sunday through Tuesday) or $500/person for the Moral Distress Consultation sessions only (Tuesday, September 30). Pre-registration is required. Questions: PLEASE CONTACT: Charlene Kaufman @ cmk2b@uvahealth.org
MEALS: Breakfast: Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday
Lunch: Sunday and Tuesday
LODGING: A block has been reserved at the Courtyard by Marriott (434-977-1700) next to the Medical Center.

Courtyard Charlottesville – University Medical Center for 127.00 per night – Last Day to Book : Saturday, September 06, 2025
Book your group rate for HEC Conference

THINGS TO DO IN AND AROUND CHARLOTTESVILLE: Charlottesville is vibrant small town with lots to do. It’s a foodie haven with museums, theaters, and an active music scene. Outdoor opportunities include exploring the Historic Downtown Mall (pedestrian-only with 120 shops and 30 restaurants), hiking the Blue Ridge Mountains, enjoying the fall foliage on the Skyline Drive, touring the University grounds and gardens (including Edgar Allan Poe’s room on the Range), visiting Monticello (and dining at nearby historic Michie Tavern), picnicking at Carter Mountain Orchard (apple cider donuts!), and sampling the goods at a plethora of local wineries, cideries, and distilleries.

COURSE FACULTY:
The training will be co-led by:
Mary Faith Marshall, PhD, FCCM, HEC-C: Course Co-Director; Kornfeld Professor of Bioethics
and Director, Center for Health Humanities and Ethics, School of Medicine and Professor, School of Nursing; member Ethics Consult and Moral Distress Consult Services; member Medical Center Ethics Committee
Dawn Bourne, DNP, FNP-C, HEC-C: Assistant Professor, School of Nursing; Director, Moral Distress Consult Service; member Ethics Consult Service
Julia Taylor, MD, MA, HEC-C: Associate Professor of Pediatrics; Core Faculty, Center for Health Humanities and Ethics; Director Ethics Consult Service; member Moral Distress Consult Service

Faculty:
Susan Aronhalt, MSW, LCSW: member, Ethics and Moral Distress Consult Services
Dawn Bourne, DNP, FNP-C, HEC-C: Assistant Professor, School of Nursing; Director, Moral Distress Consult Service; member Ethics Distress Consult Service
James F. Childress, PhD: Hollingsworth Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies; Core Faculty, Center for Health Humanities and Ethics; member, Medical Center Ethics Committee
Katerine Egressy, MD, MPH, FCCP: Assistant Professor of Medicine; member Ethics and Moral Distress Consult Services
Andrew Legan, MD: Assistant Professor of Psychiatry; member, Ethics and Moral Distress Consult Services
Dea Mahanes, DNP, RN, CCNS, CNRN, CCRN, FNCS, HEC-C: Clinical Nurse Specialist, Neurancy Neuroscience Intensive and Intermediate Care Units; member Ethics and Moral Distress Consult Services; member, Medical Center Ethics Committee; Chair, Medical Center Organ Transplant Committee
Mary Faith Marshall, PhD, FCCM, HEC-C: Director, Center for Health Humanities and Ethics; member Ethics and Moral Distress Consult Services; member, Medical Center Ethics Committee
Peter Murray, MD, MSM, HEC-C: Associate Professor of Pediatrics; Chairperson, Medical Center Ethics Committee; member Ethics and Moral Distress Consult Services
Jeffery Spike, PhD, HEC-C: Ethics Scholar-in-Residence at Children’s National Hospital in Washington D.C. and a Clinical Professor at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health
Julia Taylor, MD, MA (Bioethics), HEC-C: Associate Professor of Pediatrics; Core Faculty, Center for Health Humanities and Ethics; Director, Ethics Consult Service, member Medical Center Ethics Committee
Nicholas Yates, MD, MA (Bioethics), Pediatrician, community member Ethics and Moral Distress Consult Services; member, Patient Care Consulting Subcommittee

Learn More About Columbia's New Dual Degree Master of Science in Bioethics/Master of Science in Social Work Program
2025-09-25 18:00 - 19:30 (America/New_York) | Online
Columbia University’s new Master of Science in Bioethics / Master of Social Work dual degree program brings together top-tier professional education in bioethics and social work, to provide extraordinary synergies and unique professional opportunities. This new dual degree prepares social workers to address pressing bioethical challenges in healthcare and serve as leaders in bioethics.
Join us for this session featuring both Bioethics and Social Work faculty to answer questions about the new program. In addition, social workers who work in bioethics will discuss how their dual training has proved essential for their careers, opening up novel avenues.
