| These lectures address topics within bioethics and the medical humanities. Speakers are MH&B faculty or special guests we've invited to present. The lectures run every Thursday from noon to 12:45pm in the Searle Seminar Room in the Lurie building, during The Graduate School's Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters. Due to public interest, we've made these lectures open to all, inside and outside the Northwestern community. Please feel free to bring a lunch. |
.1 | by | | Kristi Kirschner, MD
Associate Professor
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Medical Humanities & Bioethics
Director
Donnelley Family Disability Ethics Program |
.
Thursday, January 17
Who gets to frame the story? What stakeholder perspectives are relevant? Disability ethics engages narrative and feminist ethics to critique ethical issues involving people with disabilities. This presentation will use some classic stories involving people with disabilities to illustrate the value of this approach.
.
Thursday, January 24
Definitions of personhood are remarkably elusive with theories espousing biological life to the presence of neocortical function. It is within this cultural context that questions of personhood after new onset disabilities arise. This presentation will explore theories of personhood and use the examples of spinal cord injury and brain injury to explore the implications of various theories of personhood in medical decision-making.
.
Thursday, January 31
Altering bodies for non-medical reasons has been an increasingly accepted part of Western medical practice since the inception of cosmetic surgery. Invariably, though, patients who request cosmetic surgery are doing so for themselves, based upon a personal analysis of their quality of life. The recent controversial case of Ashley X raises the question of whether parents should be able to request surgery or treatments to alter the healthy body of their non-consenting child with disabilities, based upon beliefs about their child's quality of life. This presentation will explore the implications of such decisions.
| | |
