The Ethics Center: Events - Social Justice and Stem Cell Research

A co-sponsored, free interdisciplinary conference

Afternoon Session - Kevin Walsh Photography

A conference webcast is available online and is viewable in Streaming RealPlayer. UCSD TV has also loaded the program on YouTube.

Date:	Saturday, May 13, 2006, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Location:	University of California, San Diego
Sponsors:	Episcopal Student Association at UCSD The Center for Ethics in Science & Technology (The Ethics Center)
Co-Sponsors	UCSD-TV UCSD Thurgood Marshall College The Burnham Institute Episcopal Diocese of San Diego The Salk Institute UCSD Burke Lectureship Board UCSD Health Care - Social Issues Program UCSD Sixth College Newman Center, Catholic Community at UCSD Saint Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral Peace & Justice Committee United Methodist Wesley Foundation Center for Ethics and Spirituality at UCSD
Panelists:	Scientific Foundations. Ronald B. Miller, M.D., Clinical Professor of Medicine Emeritus, Division of Nephrology and Director, Program of Medical Ethics, University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. (Note: Dr. Miller substituted for Dr. Larry Goldstein, who was unable to join the panel.) Moral Costs. Wesley Smith, J.D., a Senior Fellow with the Discovery Institute in Seattle; his books include Culture of Death: The Assault on Medical Ethics in America and Forced Exit: the Slippery Slope from Assisted Suicide to Legalized Murder. His current book is Consumer's Guide to Brave New World. Public Perceptions. John Evans, Ph.D., UCSD associate professor of sociology, author of Playing God? Human Genetic Engineering and the Rationalization of Public Bioethical Debate. From the perspective of the sociology of bioethics and science, religion and politics, Evans examines public opinion on issues such as regenerative medicine and reproductive genetic technologies. Political Implementation. Alta Charo, JD, Warren P. Knowles Professor of Law and Bioethics at the University of Wisconsin and currently Visiting Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. Charo serves on the NAS Board on Life Sciences and was its Liaison to the Committee on Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research. She also serves on the Scientific and Medical Accountability Standards Working Group of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine. She is a past member of the NIH Human Embryo Research Panel and the presidential National Bioethics Advisory Commission. ~ See more information about the Panelists
Contact:	Ethics Center
Description:	In November of 2004, Proposition 71 authorized $3 billion to be spent in California on stem cell research, which promises to develop medical therapies for various diseases. The potential medical benefits are staggering. But so are the ethical and moral questions. What are the social costs of this research? Who will bear those costs? Who will benefit from stem cell research? What civic oversight is in place as the research is implemented? After the initial panel presentations, conference participants met in small groups, facilitated by leaders representing various religious, scientific, ethics, and policy communities. See a list of conference facilitators. Over lunch, the small groups grappled with points raised by the panelists and developed their own formulation of key issues and questions. Participants came back together in a large group with the panelists and shared the concerns and questions that were formulated in the small group discussion.
Resources:	Listen to a pre-conference interview with Lawrence M. Hinman and Mary Blair-Loy. "Who will benefit from stem cell research?" *KPBS These Days, May 10, 2006.*
	UCSD-TV aired the conference's morning session on: Thu, Jun 1, 2006, 8 pm Fri, Jun 2, 2006, 10 pm Sun, Jun 4, 2006, 5 pm Tue, Jun 6, 2006, 6 pm The program also premiered nationally on University of California Television (UCTV) in July and was available for viewing "on-demand" at later dates.
	Michael Kalichman and Lawrence M. Hinman. "Words that divide. Stem cell debate is semantical minefield." The San Diego Union-Tribune. May 24, 2006.
	The President's Council on Bioethics: Stem Cells

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Ethics Center Events

The Ethics Center sponsors several kinds of events, some of which are open to the public, others of which are by invitation only. To be added to our mailing list, please contact The Ethics Center.

Public Lectures

The Ethics Center sponsors public lectures, often in conjunction with other local organizations such as the SDSTC (UCSD), The Burnham Institute and the Values Institute (USD)

Stake Holder Events

The Ethics Center regularly sponsors stake-holder events, which typically involve a local group of 40-50 individuals along with a distinguished visiting leader in ethics. Past events have included Thomas Murray, President of the Hastings Center, and William Hurlbut, Professor of Medicine at Stanford and member of the President's Council on Bioethics.

Focus Groups

In order to assess the needs of or local community and also to develop local communities of individuals who share a particular interest in ethics, science and technology (i.e., religious leaders, health care personnel), we hold periodic focus groups that are devoted to the conjunction of ethics, science, and technology.