Northwestern Events Calendar

Nov
15
2018

You Say Abortifacient, I Say Abortifacient - Lisa Campo-Engelstein

SHOW DETAILS

When: Thursday, November 15, 2018
12:00 PM - 12:45 PM CT

Where: Robert H Lurie Medical Research Center, 1st floor - Searle room, 303 E. Superior, Chicago, IL 60611 map it

Contact: Myria Knox   (312) 503-7962

Group: Medical Humanities & Bioethics Lunchtime Montgomery Lectures

Category: Lectures & Meetings

Description:

The Master of Arts in Medical Humanities & Bioethics program presents

A Montgomery Lecture

with

Lisa Campo-Engelstein, PhD
Associate Professor
Alden March Bioethics Institute
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Albany Medical College
Albany, New York

You Say Abortifacient, I Say Abortifacient: Understanding the Contested Language of Abortion and the Underlying Values

Contraception works in one of two ways: by preventing fertilization of an egg or by preventing a fertilized embryo from implanting in the uterus. For individuals who believe that life begins at conception (what we label the pro-embryo view), preventing implantation of an embryo is unethical because it’s seen as intentionally killing the embryo. Although the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists defines an abortifacient as “an agent that disturbs an embryo already implanted in the uterine lining, after a pregnancy has been established,” some who hold this pro-embryo view refer to contraceptives that work by preventing implantation as abortifacients, because there is no other term that acknowledges when contraceptives prevent implantation, which they see as the intentional killing of an embryo. Such usage has, and probably will continue to, engender increased hostility between both sides: pro-choice individuals will view pro-life individuals as ignorant for misusing this word and pro-life individuals will view pro-choice individuals as narrow-minded for not recognizing the loss associated with contraceptives that prevent implantation. Recent cases, including the Hobby Lobby case, have highlighted this discordance and perpetuated miscommunication between both sides about the nature of religious objections to contraception which are based on post-conception, pre-implantation mechanisms. While some individuals classifying contraceptives as abortifacients are simply misusing the term, there is also something deeper is going on here. We argue that in order to have a civil discussion about abortion, we need to be using the terminology consistently and if there are gaps in our language, we need new terms to help move the dialogue forward.

 

Nov
29
2018

After the Hype: Lessons on Civic Engagement and Evidence-Based Medicine....Shelly Benjaminy

SHOW DETAILS

When: Thursday, November 29, 2018
12:00 PM - 12:45 PM CT

Where: Robert H Lurie Medical Research Center, 1st floor - Searle room, 303 E. Superior, Chicago, IL 60611 map it

Contact: Myria Knox   (312) 503-7962

Group: Medical Humanities & Bioethics Lunchtime Montgomery Lectures

Category: Lectures & Meetings

Description:

The Master of Arts in Medical Humanities & Bioethics program presents

A Montgomery Lecture

with

Shelly Benjaminy, PhD
Bioethicist, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab

After the Hype: Lessons on Civic Engagement and Evidence-Based Medicine from the Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency Experience in Multiple Sclerosis

Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) research became a focus for multiple sclerosis (MS) when a small study suggested that an angioplasty-like procedure could reverse the symptoms of the disease. The CCSVI research trajectory was marked by public hope despite scientific skepticism, and was criticized for privileging scientific inquiry driven more by public pressure than by empirical evidence. Following recent CCSVI clinical trials that demonstrated negative results, two studies explored the perspectives of individuals with MS who: (1) participated in a multi-center Canadian CCSVI clinical trial; and (2) elected to forego CCSVI interventions. Results of these two studies will be discussed. Participant perspectives draw attention to lingering challenges in translation of biomedical research, including the imperative for carefully balancing civic engagement and scientific evidence. The CCSVI experience serves as an opportunity for reflection, and enriches the field of biomedical ethics with invaluable lessons about the complex relationship between science and society.

Dec
6
2018

Face/Off or On?: Face Transplants and the Resistance to Categorization - Sharrona Pearl

SHOW DETAILS

When: Thursday, December 6, 2018
12:00 PM - 12:45 PM CT

Where: Robert H Lurie Medical Research Center, 1st floor - Searle room, 303 E. Superior, Chicago, IL 60611 map it

Contact: Myria Knox   (312) 503-7962

Group: Medical Humanities & Bioethics Lunchtime Montgomery Lectures

Category: Lectures & Meetings

Description:

The Master of Arts in Medical Humanities & Bioethics program presents

A Montgomery Lecture

with

Sharrona Pearl, PhD
Assistant Professor
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA

Face/Off or On?: Face Transplants and the Resistance to Categorization

Both like and not like cosmetic surgery and whole organ transplants, facial allografts have proven difficult to categorize. This talk will show how bioethicists, surgeons, and journalists have conceptualized face transplants as neither and both, and the resulting stakes for each. Paying particular attention to the media coverage of Isabelle Dinoire’s partial facial allograft in 2005, I will discuss the implications of the cosmetic frame and the whole organ frame for the bioethical debates around FAT.

Jan
10
2019

Color Was a Bar to Entrance: Black Physicians at the White House During the Civil War - Kate Masur

SHOW DETAILS

When: Thursday, January 10, 2019
12:00 PM - 12:45 PM CT

Where: Ward Building, Galter Library-2nd Floor/West Reading Room, 303 E. Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611 map it

Contact: Myria Knox   (312) 503-7962

Group: Medical Humanities & Bioethics Lunchtime Montgomery Lectures

Category: Lectures & Meetings

Description:

The Master of Arts in Medical Humanities & Bioethics program, co-sponsoring with
The Galter Library and
The Office of Diversity and Inclusion

presents

A Montgomery Lecture

With

Kate Masur, PhD
Associate Professor and
Wayne V. Jones II Research Professor of History
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL

Color Was a Bar to Entrance:
Black Physicians at the White House During the Civil War


This talk emphasizes civil rights struggles during the American Civil War, focusing on the activism of two black physicians in the U.S. Army, Alexander Augusta and Anderson Abbott.

Jan
17
2019

Ethics Familiar and Strange in Living Kidney Donation - Megan Crowley-Matoka

SHOW DETAILS

When: Thursday, January 17, 2019
12:00 PM - 12:45 PM CT

Where: Robert H Lurie Medical Research Center, 1st floor - Searle room, 303 E. Superior, Chicago, IL 60611 map it

Contact: Myria Knox   (312) 503-7962

Group: Medical Humanities & Bioethics Lunchtime Montgomery Lectures

Category: Lectures & Meetings

Description:

A Montgomery Lecture

With

Megan Crowley-Matoka, PhD
Associate Professor, Medical Education
Director, Medical Humanities & Bioethics Graduate Program
Member, Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Ethics Familiar and Strange in Living Kidney Donation

This talk draws on anthropological fieldwork in Mexico and the U.S. to explore how coming to understand living donation as a life-saving vs. a life-risking endeavor is shaped not just by medical science or ethical analysis, but by diverse cultural framings as well. What are the social processes — the particular images, ideas, and stories — by which different people in different places imagine the figure of the living donor? And what are the consequences – clinical, ethical, and social – of such diverse figurations of living donation?