A real Life Case for Bioethics
A complete success on behalf of Dr. Laura Bishop at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University on April 11th, 2019 from 18:00-20:30h. This academic exercise is an effort to compel undergraduate students to become interested and publish academic work at the intersection of their own areas of interest and bioethics. In this occasion the event started with “Story Telling”, which is a type of skill that some people possess to tell anecdotes in a very entertaining way. Whether they are painful, funny, shocking, or have the effect of an emotional roller-coaster in their audience, good story tellers capture your attention throughout sparkling performances. The invited speakers, who were all well-known figures in different areas, shared personal stories in which they had to face moral dilemmas or at least experience what moral psychologists would call “moral emotions”. From a bench scientist (Adam Ruben) working with animals struggling to follow the moral premise he aimed to respect since he was a little kid “do not harm, nor kill any form of life”, to a physician (Eva Rubio) making an administrative mistake that seemed so silly and frustrating, yet dreadful and important at the same time for what it could do to her newly started medical career. The audience with scientific or health backgrounds found themselves identifying with the speakers, including me. However, the themes of the stories were diverse, as was the audience. An ex-alumnus (Angela Hill) tried to depict what Alzheimer’s dementia did to her grandmother, how she coped with the changes and had to make remarkable decisions in their new life. In this new life, in which her grandmother seemed to have new identity at times, she learned to be the adult in the relationship and to cherish the small glimpses she could get from time to time of her good old best friend. A mother (Sarah Gray) told the story of the time in which she found out that one of the twins she was carrying in her womb had a medical condition from which he might not survive long after born. After having delivered the babies, spending some time with her son, snuggling him and saying goodbye to him, a decision about what to do with his body had to be made. The strong mother that stood up in-front of us remembering the details of her story, continued to tell us what it felt to have donated her babies’ tissues (cornea, liver, etc.) to research projects. Her journey then took her to become interested in establishing contact with the scientists who received the donations to know how those gifts had been used, a desire to discover what the outcome or secondary purpose of her altruist action had been. The communication between the family and scientists was enabled. Her story concluded describing the wonderful discovery she and her family had made about her son’s short but meaningful life through tissue donation.
Yet Mike Kane reminded us, that sometimes, dilemmas could be disguised under a more cheerful narrative. A story about a dad with panic attacks who one day thought he was suffering a heart attack at the office, allowed us to look inside a parent’s mind. What to do under uncomfortable or shameful circumstances? What’s the value of life and specially of our life to us and why? How do we portray ourselves to others and our family? And why? Our image in society is so important to us, which is big part of why implementation of social norms works. What would my colleagues or kids think of me if…? Fill in the blank, we think about this many time of the day, especially when we need to make big decisions. That’s part of our human nature. Some similar reflections popped into my mind when listening to an amazing story about a mother (Joani Peacock) who was contacted by the child whom she once gave up for adoption. This, which in the past would’ve been theme of a telenovela because of the difficulties in trying to find a biological parent back then, is now possible and simple through the magic, science or some would say pitfalls of genetic testing commercial services. There are plenty interesting questions in the area of genEthics but the reflection this mother shared with us was directed to understand her intimate feelings and the questions going through her head. How do I tell my kids? How will they view me? I can imagine we all would have certain situations in which a struggle of shame abides one's moral. Understanding the roots and importance of morality is key to understanding Ethics and Bioethics.
This is why the Undergraduate Bioethics Research Show Case has been successful one more time, through the art of Story Telling and real-life cases, the organizers and speakers showed an innovative form to connect and promote introspection about moral decision-making.
This year the students’ contest displayed a range of topics varying from environmental concerns themes such as climate change and economic solutions for distribution of resources, to the always present clinically oriented issues like therapeutic misunderstandings and informed consent. The literary and artistic samples also included technologically-oriented works. Examples of these were an analysis of John Harris’ view on enhancement versus therapy, and the use of visual art to call for reflection on the impact of neurotechnology. Among these very diverse bioethics themes a commonality was the profound dissection each piece gave to very specific issues within the broader subjects. The young talent showed how valuable it can be to promote bioethics reflection at a young age, not only for the student’s education, but for the field of bioethics growth through innovation. The novel, some peculiar, but very powerful ideas of the undergraduates was noticed by the jury members, who encouraged the young disciples to publish their work in undergraduate journals.
I thank Dr. Bishop for the invitation, as it was a beautiful example of how to put together an event that brings awareness to bioethics at different levels. First, engaging the audience in a very personal way, making us discover the commonality feel in the experience of moral dilemmas. Then, through the students’ presentions and displayed work, pulled our attention one step back to be able to look at the larger picture moral dilemmas, those which affect and are of concern to us all (our nations and world).
Invited speakers "Story Tellers".
From left to right: Eva Rubio, Joani Peacock, Sarah Gray, Angela Hill, Mike Kane, Adam Ruben.
To see the interesting products of this fabulous showcase go here.
Acknowledgements for this event to:
- Dr. Laura Bishop, Associate Teaching Professor and Academic Program Manager at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics. Georgetown University. In U.S.
- Lukas Chandler, Event and Operations Manager at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics. Georgetown University. In U.S.
- Marta Dias Barceló, Visiting Scholar from School of Social Sciences and Humanities, NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal.
Speakers:
- Adam Ruben: microbiologist, comedian, writer. Host of “Outrageous Acts of Science” on the Science Channel. Author of “Surviving Your Stupid, Stupid Decision to Go to Grad School”, among many others.
- Sarah Gray: author of the award-winning, Washington Post bestseller, A Life Everlasting: The Extraordinary Story of One Boy’s Gift to Medical Science. Has been featured in RadioLab, The Moth Radio Hour, Ted Talk of the Day, etc.
- Reverend Joani Peacock: graduate of Virginia Theological Seminary. She has served five parishes in the Diocese of Virginia and was on staff at Bishop Payne Library at Virginia Seminary. She has a blog Unorthodox & Unhinged on mental health and spirituality, which became the inspiration for Story District’s production of Mind Over Matter: True Stories about Living with Mental Illness.
- Mike Kane: Emmy-award-winning producer and writer in the DC area. His work has appeared on Discovery, Animal Planet, PBS and TLC, among others. He has performed on stage for over seven years in various shows.
- Eva Rubio: MD, radiologist at Children’s National Health System, who is dedicated to improving pediatric care.
- Angela Hill: a two-time Emmy award-winning producer, Scripps National Investigative Journalist, and adjunct instructor.
- Katy Barrett: the emcee for the evening. A storyteller with a passion for apes and other animals.
Hosted and sponsored by the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University. The Showcase launched in 2014 through the support of a grant from Mary Elizabeth Groff Surgical Medical Research and Education Charitable Trust.