The annual Daniel W. Foster, M.D. Visiting Lectureship in Medical Ethics brings the most distinguished scholars in medical ethics to the UT Southwestern campus to present and discuss the most challenging moral issues in biomedicine today. Established in 2007 in honor of UT Southwestern’s Daniel W. Foster, the Lectureship also offers opportunities for faculty, staff, and trainees to discuss medical ethics in an intimate setting.
About Daniel W Foster M.D.
The physician’s ethic remained stable for some 2500 years. In the last half century, it has undergone serious disassembly with every one of its ancient precepts challenged. What has changed and why? What should change? What cannot and must change? The questions are of critical importance to present and future physician-patient relationships and the nature of healing and helping the sick.
Click on link to view streaming presentation: "Does Medicine Need a New Ethic? "
http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/pellegrino/video/pellegrino.html
- The 2008 Daniel W. Foster, M.D., Lecturer; Ruth R. Faden, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008-12:00 Noon, D1.602
"Ethics of Health Care Reform"
This seminar is a timely analysis of the moral considerations that underlie the recent Republican and Democrat platforms on health-care reform. Media, policy analysis and academic discussion have largely focused on describing the technical components, political viability and financial feasibility of the alternative reform strategies. What is missing from this discussion is a deeper examination of the moral assumptions and fundamental values associated with the different approaches. Assuming that justice requires universal and continuous access to a reasonably comprehensive level of medical care, what moral challenges do both approaches face?
- The 2009 Daniel W. Foster, M.D., Lecturer; R. Alta Charo, J.D.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009-12:00 Noon, D1.602
"The Celestial Fire of Conscience: Is There a "Right" to Refuse Medical Services?"
Since the 1970s, both state and federal law have permitted physicians to abstain from performing abortions and (in most cases) sterilizations. In the past decade, however, a growing range of health care providers (including pharmacists, nurses and PAs) have argued for a legal and moral right to refuse a broader range of services (including contraception and assistance in dying) and to refuse in a broader range of ways (including referral to another provider). The result is a patchwork of state laws, some formalizing the right to refuse, and others requiring providers to comply with patient requests. And the federal government is implicated by virtue of HHS regulations governing institutions that receive federal funds. This presentation will survey legal developments and professional society guidelines, as well as rehearse the major arguments for and against a duty to provide services upon patient request.
