For Immediate Release
October 28, 2003
Contact: Evelyne Girardet
(312) 582-6075

Bioethics Experts to Speak at The Latin School

Should a husband be able to have a feeding tube removed from his severely brain damaged wife after 13 years, against her parents’ wishes?

If you knew that you would find a cure for AIDS by testing animals, would you?

Should families be allowed to choose the gender of their children using new fertility techniques?

These are the types of questions a panel of four nationally recognized experts in contemporary bioethics issues will address during a symposium at The Latin School of Chicago, 59 W. North Blvd., on Thursday, October 30. The event will begin at 2:30 p.m.

Dr. Julie Goldstein, section chief of clinical ethics at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center; Jeff Lyon, a Chicago Tribune reporter and editor who won a Pulitzer Prize for a series on gene therapy; Dr. Martin Stephens, vice president for animal research issues at The Humane Society of the United States; and Dr. Kenneth Vaux, director of the Center for Ethics and Values at Garrett Seminary of Northwestern University; will present students in grades nine through 12 with an overview of the current ethical discussions in their fields.

The symposium is part of Latin’s Initiative for Ethics (LIFE), a four-year curricular and extra-curricular program designed to provide a framework for the ongoing study and debate of contemporary ethics issues.
Started in 2002, LIFE sponsors guest speakers, special events, workshops, and independent study courses as well as opportunities for students to attend conferences and meetings outside the School.
This school year the initiative will focus on bioethics. Students will tackle controversial issues including stem cell research, animal care and use, human cloning, the human genome project, the environment and conservation, and topics related to abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia.

During its inaugural year LIFE looked at media ethics. Next year the initiative will deal with political ethics. And, in its final year LIFE will address professional ethics.

To find out more about LIFE or upcoming events, contact Evelyne Girardet at (312) 582-6075 or visit the Latin School’s website at www.latinschool.org/academics/special_initiatives/life/index.html