State Legislative Advisory Board
•We are excited to partner with The Center for Women Policy Studies to create the first-ever State Legislative Advisory Board on Women and Bioethics. Our bipartisan 15-member board is made up of progressive state legislative leaders from around the country. The first meeting will be held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) on Monday, Aug. 14, 2006, 3–5 p.m. at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, TN. Robin N. Fiore, Ph.D., WBP Board member, is the featured speaker. If you are in Nashville, please come on by ya'll.
•We are excited to partner with The Center for Women Policy Studies to create the first-ever State Legislative Advisory Board on Women and Bioethics. Our bipartisan 15-member board is made up of progressive state legislative leaders from around the country. The first meeting will be held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) on Monday, Aug. 14, 2006, 3–5 p.m. at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, TN. Robin N. Fiore, Ph.D., WBP Board member, is the featured speaker. If you are in Nashville, please come on by ya'll.
ASBH Summer Conference
•We were delighted that WBP’s soon to be
published whitepaper— Bioethics and Public Policy: A Competitive
Analysis of Americans United for Life—was
selected to be presented at the American Society for Bioethics and
Humanities summer conference on Bioethics and Politics: The Future of
Bioethics in a Divided Democracy. What an honor!
Here's the paper's abstract: How
does an established, pro-life advocacy group reshape itself into a
self-proclaimed “non-profit, public interest bioethics law firm” using
bioethics to drive its political agenda? The paper examines the
strategies and tactics of one of the most prolific and active
conservative organizations that is working to shape bioethics public
policy through legislation, pro bono legal counsel, and public
opinion. If you would like a pre-publication copy, please email
the Women’s Bioethics Project
Also, immediately prior to the conference,
Jonathan Moreno, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and
Kathryn Hinsch hosted a private luncheon for progressive bioethics
scholars. The event was well-attended and provided important strategic
input for our progressive bioethics initiative. Thanks to the scholars
who came early to Albany to attend.
Humanities Washington Grant
•The WBP bioethics book club launched in April has
been a big success. The most frequent request from our readers has
been for additional content that is accessible, interactive and sheds
further light on the ethical issues raised by genetic engineering. We
are grateful that Humanities Washington has agreed to fund a series of
podcast interviews of bioethics scholars in the fields of philosophy,
medical humanities, and theology. We envision the podcasts being used
as part of book club group meetings, at public events, and as follow-up
materials for individuals. They could also be used in a classroom
setting. We are conducting the interviews now and will publish the
series in September on our website.
WBP Research Fellow—Emilie Clemmens
•Emilie joins us as a research fellow responsible for the WBP science and ethics initiative. A
scientist with backgrounds in bioengineering and human physiology,
Emilie Clemmens has held a long-standing interest in bioethics and
science policy. During her scientific training, she opted to take
courses in health law and published an article on cloning embryos for
research in the Indiana Health Law Review. After receiving her Ph.D. in
bioengineering from the University of Washington in 2003, Emilie
co-founded the Forum on Science, Ethics, & Policy at the UW. As a
2004 Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Fellow at The
National Academies in Washington, D.C., she enjoyed discovering how
science policy is crafted at the federal level and how our nation’s
scientific experts contribute to the process. Emilie brings her
perspectives as a woman, mother, scientist, and ethicist to this
critically important initiative. A
native of Kentucky and devoted Kentucky Wildcats fan, Emilie now lives
in Redmond, WA with her husband John and daughter Audrey.
New East Coast Advisory Board Member— Laurie Zoloth
•While
Laurie Zoloth, Ph.D. was one of WBP’s original supporters, it took an
unexpected run around Albany, NY to convince her to become a board
member. Let me explain: at the recent ASBH conference, during a late
night cocktail reception in Glenn McGee’s suite, Laurie, who is usually
amazingly persuasive, was meeting resistance to her invitation to join
her for a 6am run the following morning (besides the early hour, I
think people were secretly concerned that she might run as fast as she
talks.) Finally, she spied me across the room and announced “Kathryn
will run with me.” How could I resist the opportunity to spend an hour
with one of the world’s premier bioethics scholars? We met, we ran,
and at the end of the 5 mile journey, Laurie had agreed to join the
board. We have since run together at other events and are plotting all sorts of
new great projects. Please join me in welcoming Laurie to the East Coast Advisory Board.
Upcoming Events:
To Clone or Not to Clone: Is that the question?
The
rapid advance of emerging new technologies leave many of us bewildered
and concerned. Are you curious about what science, ethics and the arts
have to say about cloning and related issues? If so, please join us for a lively, moderated discussion.
Moderators: Kathryn Hinsch, Founder, Women's Bioethics Project and Petra Lahaie, WBP and ACT Board Member
Panelists:
Paul Abrams, MD/JD, Former President and CEO, CEPTYR
"The science behind adult and embryonic stem cells, therapeutic and reproductive cloning"
Emilie Clemmens, Ph.D., Research Fellow, Women's Bioethics Project
"Ethical implications of these emerging
technologies"
Kurt Beattie, Artistic Director, ACT Theater
"What does art have to say about emerging technologies: ACT's upcoming production of "A Number."
Date: Tuesday, August 29th from 6–8pm
Place: ACT Theater Bullitt Room
ACT Theater address and directions
Wine and cheese reception to follow.