Add an Event :: View: Upcoming | Month

Stem Cell Research: Understanding the Controversies

Thursday, January 10, 2008

2:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Podcast

• Opening Remarks, Introductions, and Panel 1 - Georgia Legislative Perspectives, 38 minutes
• Panel 2 - Overview of Stem Cell Science and Related Ethical Issues, 58 minutes
• Panel 3 - Public Policy Perspectives, 1 hour and 40 minutes
• Open Discussion, 18 minutes
• All segments

Sponsored by

Georgia State University College of Law
Center for Law, Health & Society

Co-sponsored by  

Georgia Institute of Technology School of Public Policy
Georgia Institute of Technology Center for Ethics & Technology

Description

Stem cell research using human embryos has created widespread public controversy. Supporters say it holds the promise of future medical cures for devastating illnesses. Opponents call the research both unethical and unnecessary. Whether other kinds of stem cell research that do not use human embryos are equally promising for medical science is intensely debated. This conference promotes understanding of stem cell science, the ethical, religious, and policy issues surrounding the science, and how recent empirical research informs the debates.

Speakers

Senator David I. Adelman, J.D., M.P.A.
The Georgia State Senate

Senator Adelman (D-District 42) was first elected to the Georgia Senate in 2002 and has served as Minority Whip since 2004. He currently serves as Chairman of the Urban Affairs Committee and Vice Chairman of the Special Judiciary Committee. He is a partner with Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP, an Atlanta law firm, and serves on numerous non-profit and civic boards.

Roberta M. Berry, J.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor, School of Public Policy
Georgia Institute of Technology,
Faculty Fellow, Georgia State University College of Law

Professor Berry’s research centers on the legal, ethical, and policy issues surrounding biotechnological innovation, bioscience and biomedical research, and health care. Her recent book, The Ethics of Genetic Engineering, was released by Routledge in 2007.

Cynthia B. Cohen, Ph.D., J.D.
Senior Research Fellow, Kennedy Institute of Ethics
Georgetown University

Dr. Cohen is a Fellow of The Hastings Center, former Executive Director of the National Advisory Board on Ethics in Reproduction, and former chair of the Philosophy Department at the University of Denver. She has published widely on ethical issues surrounding stem cell research, genetic testing, and  reproductive and research cloning. Her book, Renewing the Stuff of Life: Stem Cells, Ethics, and Public Policy, was released by Oxford University Press in 2007.

William B. Hurlbut, M.D.
Consulting Professor, Neuroscience Institute
Stanford University

Dr. Hurlbut has served on the President’s Council on Bioethics since 2002 and on the Chemical and Biological Warfare Working Group of the Center for International Security and Cooperation since 1998. He is co-editor of the 2002 book, Altruism and Altruistic Love: Science, Religion and Philosophy in Dialogue, from Oxford University Press, and has authored a number of publications on science and ethics.

Aaron D. Levine, M.Phil., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, School of Public Policy
Georgia Institute of Technology

Dr. Levine focuses his research on understanding how the policy environment influences the development of ethically contentious new technologies. He edited the 2006 study, States and Stem Cells: Policy and Economic Implications of State-Funded Stem Cell Research, for the Policy Research Institute at Princeton University, and his book on cloning and embryonic stem cell science, Cloning: A Beginner’s Guide, was published in 2007 by Oneworld Publications.

Anne Drapkin Lyerly, M.D., M.A.
Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and
Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities, and History of Medicine,
Duke University

Dr. Lyerly’s scholarly and teaching interests focus on bioethics and health policy, specifically issues regarding women's health, reproductive medicine, and applications of feminist theory. She recently conducted a multi-center study of fertility patients’ attitudes regarding the disposition of their own cryo-preserved embryos.

Senator David J. Shafer
The Georgia State Senate

Senator Shafer (R-District 48) was elected to the Georgia Senate in 2002. He currently serves as Chairman of the Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee and formerly served as Chairman of the Senate Science and Technology Committee. In 2007, he sponsored the Saving the Cure Act to promote non-destructive stem cell research, which was signed into law in July 2007.

Leslie E. Wolf, J.D., M.P.H.
Associate Professor, Georgia State University College of Law

Professor Wolf conducts research in health and public health law and ethics, with a particular focus on research ethics. She previously served on the University of California San Francisco advisory committee regarding stem cell research and its institutional review board and has written on ethical oversight of stem cell research.

Program

2:00 pm Welcome
Roberta M. Berry, J.D., Ph.D., Moderator

2:05 pm Georgia Legislative Perspectives

Stem Cell Research Policies in Georgia
– Senator David I. Adelman (D-District 42)
– Senator David J. Shafer (R-District 48)

2:30 pm Ethical Issues and Religious Perspectives

Overview of Stem Cell Science and Related Ethical Issues – Leslie E. Wolf, J.D., M.P.H.

Religious Perspectives on Stem Cell Research – Cynthia B. Cohen, Ph.D., J.D.

3:30 pm Break

3:45 pm Public Policy Perspectives

The President’s Council on Bioethics and the Search for Alternative Sources of Pluripotent Stem Cells – William B. Hurlbut, M.D.

Fertility Patients’ Preferences for Disposition of IVF Embryos – Anne Drapkin Lyerly, M.D., M.A.

Assessing the Influence of State Stem Cell Policies on Scientists’ Careers – Aaron D. Levine, M.Phil., Ph.D.

5:15 pm Open Discussion

5:30 pm Reception – please join us for light refreshments

Category : Center for Law, Health & Society