The Bioethics Podcast

In this episode of the podcast, we have a recent lecture by Michael J. Sleasman, PhD, Associate Professor of Bioethics and Director of Bioethics Degree Programs at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Trinity International University. His lecture is entitled “From Science Fiction to Reality: The Bioethics of Emerging Technologies”

As we look forward to our 30th annual conference – The Christian Stake in Bioethics Revisited, June 22-24 – this episode of the podcast looks back to the very first address from the very first conference, way back in May of 1994. In this address, Dr. Cameron identifies a profound cultural shift in public life, in institutions, and in professions that has seen each of these areas move away from Judeo-Christian underpinnings. Cameron focuses on medicine and what he identifies, from the Hippocratic Oath, as the three covenants involved in the profession of medicine, one of which in his view has been abandoned. He concludes with two suggestions on what might be done to respond to these changes. CBHD Members Reading Group: Read Frankenstein with the CBHD Staff The novel wrestles with themes of creation and destruction, alienation and loneliness, birth and life, the toxicity of revenge, and the quest to conquer the unknown at the cost of one’s own humanity.  Literature professor Karen Swallow Prior has created an edition of this classic that illuminates Shelley’s intended themes and messages, including an extensive introduction to the original author and context of the novel. Through her footnotes and discussion questions, Prior’s commentary also helps the reader understand how to read Frankenstein in light of the gospel. We will meet via Zoom during the week of April 10 for the book discussion. Exact date and time TBD. To Participate, become a CBHD Member: https://www.cbhd.org/sign-up 30th Annual Conference Registration for our 30th annual conference, The Christian Stake in Bioethics Revisited is open and early bird rates are still in effect. For more information and to register, visit https://www.cbhd.org/conf2023 

First, CBHD Membership is now open -- become a member today! For information on the benefits of membership and to join, visit https://www.cbhd.org/sign-up Second, Conference Registration is now open -- and early bird pricing is in effect! The theme for this, our 30th annual conference, is The Christian Stake in Bioethics Revisited: Crucial Issues of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. It will take place June 22-24 on the campus of Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois. For more information and to register, visit https://www.cbhd.org/conf2023 

Our first podcast episode of 2023 features the latest article from our Intersections forum, which is now hosted on our all-new website at cbhd.org. The article is entitled "Embodied Souls and Ensouled Bodies," and it was written by our own Bryan Just, MA. Bryan also serves as our reader for this episode.  If you had a chance yet, please do stop by and check out the all-new cbhd.org. It has a clean, easy-to-navigate design and works equally well on desktops, laptops, tablets, and phones.

In this episode of the podcast, CBHD Executive Director Matthew Eppinette provides an end-of-year update and a preview of things to come in 2023. The challenges to life and health have only increased in significance. Genuinely Christian engagement is needed as much now as it has ever been. Please give as generously as you are able today! And please, please keep us in your prayers. Thank you in advance for your support. We are incredibly grateful for the work that has been given to us to do and for the provision of God through the people of God that enables us to do it. Thank you for investing in CBHD's mission and work! For more information about The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity, and to support the work of the Center—and projects like this podcast—please visit our website, cbhd.org  ------- Music: Carol Of The Bells by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Artist: http://audionautix.com/

This episode of The Bioethics Podcast marks the launch of an all new cbhd.org website. The new website has a new look and feel and is mobile-friendly! In addition, we are moving our Intersections Forum (and the other content from Everyday Bioethics) to cbhd.org.  To mark this occasion, we’ve reposted one of the first Intersections entries, entitled “Why Intersections?,” this time titling it “‘Why Intersections?’ Revisited,” and adding an editor’s note of introduction. The latest Intersections entry is available on the home page, and the complete archives are available by clicking on Intersections under the heading Everyday Bioethics at the top of the page. In addition, this episode features a big announcement regarding the CBHD staff and a reminder that our Call for Paper and Poster Proposals is open until December 19.

This episode is all about a new book just released by The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity entitled Bioethics in Real Life: Lessons We’re Learning from COVID-19. While we may be a bit weary of thinking about COVID, this book is actually forward-looking. It asks: what can we take away from the COVID experience that will help us face similar challenges that will surely arise in the future? CBHD Executive Director Matthew Eppinette introduces the book, its editors, its authors, and its chapters.  Bioethics in Real Life: Lessons We’re Learning from COVID-19 is available through Amazon.com in paperback or Kindle format, and it is free for those participating in the kindle unlimited program. 

At the start of this semester, one of our MA in Bioethics students, Stephen Largent, wrote a letter describing his appreciation for CBHD's work, and urging those who can to financially support the work of the center. Here is the letter in it's entirety: "Dear Friend of CBHD, The work of The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity is a great help to me as a student, and I know it will continue to help me long after I finish my college years here at Trinity International University. My name is Stephen Largent, and I’m a fourth-year student in the bachelors + MA Bioethics program at Trinity. I am in the biology, pre-med emphasis undergrad, and I plan on going on to medical school after I graduate. When I came to Trinity, I honestly had no idea what bioethics was. During my first semester, however, I registered for an undergraduate bioethics course and quickly knew I wanted to study bioethics further. I saw that the field encompassed a number of topics I’d been interested in since high school, like gene editing, transhumanism, abortion, and more. As my interest grew, I realized that I needed to ensure that the information I was receiving was biblically informed. The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity is the absolute best source of truthful, well-researched information on bioethics, deftly intertwining ethical evaluation and theological orthodoxy. CBHD engages the academic arena of bioethics and does a phenomenal job providing resources and continuing education for church leaders, doctors and lawyers, and those who understand the importance of knowing more about bioethics. Being able to attend CBHD’s annual conference, read Dignitas articles, explore the CBHD websites, and know I received an ethical and biblical lesson is crucial to my learning and growth. I find CBHD’s work to be invaluable to my aspirations to become a physician. I am learning bioethics from a Christian worldview as well as how to approach bioethical topics with those who do not share the same worldview. Bioethical issues are among the most important of my generation, yet there are still many who, like me only a couple of years ago, don’t even know the term “bioethics.” Accurate knowledge of these topics is of utmost importance. The CBHD mission to provide reliable bioethics information from a Judeo-Christian perspective takes the work of many who, by God’s grace, have the desire to help engage in these hard conversations. In short, The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity cannot do its important work without your generosity. For the benefit of future doctors, nurses, and others in the medical field, please support the work of CBHD. Sincerely, Stephen PS: CBHD’s work has been a blessing to my fellow students and me, and I will turn to their resources for years to come as I move to med school and my career. Please support their work today!" Please consider supporting the Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity at https://cbhd.org/give-online Thank you!

In this episode of the podcast, CBHD Executive Director Matthew Eppinette interviews Heather Zeiger, CBHD Research Analyst as well as editor and project manager of our recently released report on “Fetal Tissue Research and Christian Bioethics.” This report has been several years in the making, and arrives at a particularly important time – fetal tissue research has been much in the news during the development of the COVID vaccines, and the recent Dobbs decision by the U.S. Supreme Court may very well have implications for this research. Matthew and Heather discuss these topics and much more in this episode. To find out more about CBHD and to support our work, please visit https://cbhd.org To view the Fetal Tissue Research & Christian Bioethics report, visit https://cbhd.org/content/fetal-tissue-research-and-christian-bioethics-review-scientific-developments-policy Please follow & share this podcast to get the Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity's message and vision to all who need to hear it! Thank you!

CBHD Executive Director, Matthew Eppinette, interviews his senior pastor, Bo Collins regarding his recent attendance at CBHD's summer conference Pastors Workshop in Deerfield Illinois at the end of June.  Bo gives insight and feedback into the topics covered within the workshop, and even turns the tables on Matthew; the interviewer becomes the interviewee! Bo is from Birmingham, AL. He holds degrees from the University of Alabama in Birmingham (BA, English) and Covenant Theological Seminary (MDiv). He was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in while serving on the pastoral staff of Riveroaks Reformed Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Memphis, TN. Bo and his wife, Katie, have three sons, Fraser, Elliot, & Bruce.  He loves bike racing, blues guitar, explaining the Bible, and growing in his ability to serve the LORD’s people and the church. Rev. Collins has served as the pastor of Lakeview Presbyterian Church since 2018.

This episode features Dr. Jeff Barrows (Senior Vice President of Bioethics and Public Policy for the Christian Medical & Dental Associations) and will provide stories of conscience involving healthcare professionals seeking to practice medicine according to Biblical and Hippocratic principles, but have been confronted with scenarios in which they were faced with a choice of either violating their conscience or the possibility of losing employment. Dr. Barrows will also briefly discuss the framework in which practicing healthcare professionals can evaluate the validity of their conscience concerns.

Join us as we hear Bryan Just read an Introduction to Reproductive Technologies by Dr. Brent Waters who is part of the Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity as a Senior Fellow. This comes to us at the perfect time as our Pastors Conference, in conjunction with our CBHD Annual Conference, focuses on Reproductive Technologies.  If you or someone you know is a pastor or church leader, please pass along the FREE pastors workshop website at https://pastorsconference.cbhd.org.

Join the CBHD staff as we discuss the general topic of bioethics, meet team members you may not know yet, and discuss what the near future holds for the center!

Although our plan was to start our season earlier this year, we're now starting season 22 with a tribute to Robert D. Orr.  His legacy in medical ethics will be remembered in many ways, and we count ourselves here at CBHD lucky that we are one of those many ways through the Robert D. Orr Endowed Fellowship. This tribute was originally published in our Spring/Summer 2021 Issue of Dignitas, authored by John Kilner, and read by Bryan Just.

Anna Vollema works at the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity where she serves as the Research Analyst and Robert D. Orr Fellow. She holds a double MA in Old and New Testament from Talbot School of Theology in southern California. She continues her education at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, seeking to better her knowledge of the character of God through obtaining a PhD in Old Testament. She previously taught Elementary Greek for the school, and the excellence of her students only deepened the desire to continue teaching. Also holding a degree in Psychology, research in the area of Bioethics offers her the chance to further explore the nature of human flourishing, asking complex questions regarding not only what humankind is capable of, but also what they should pursue in light of the nature of God and that of his creation. Anna's family is spread out across the United States, including several churches, whose people comprise an extension of her family.

This episode of the podcast features an interview with Kristina Twitty, a graduate of the MA Bioethics program here at our host institution, Trinity International University. In this interview, we’ll get to know Kristina and hear about how she came to be interested in the issues of bioethics. And she’ll tell us about a new venture she’s started to assist people in thinking through the personal implications of various decisions regarding life and health, particularly choices around reproductive technologies as well as decisions that come to the fore nearer to the end of life.

This edition of the podcast features a talk by CBHD Executive Director Matthew Eppinette, MBA, PhD, entitled "Transhumanism and Christian Faithfulness." The talk was originally presented in Trinity’s Graduate and Divinity School chapel on November 16, 2021. The address is part of a semester-long series on Technology and the Church, and all of the messages in this series are available on Trinity International University’s YouTube channel.

In this episode of the podcast, Anna Vollema, CBHD's Robert D. Orr Endowed Fellow, reads "Disposition of the Heart," written by Jessica Garske, MDiv. This article was originally published on Intersections and is the first in a three-part series on disability. Jessica holds an MDiv with a concentration in Missions and Intercultural Studies from Talbot School of Theology. Her master's thesis offers church leaders a model of disability conceptualized from the Christian worldview which seeks to help inform church praxis when handling matters of disability in the congregational setting.

In this episode the Executive Director of CBHD, Matthew Eppinette, PhD, interviews CBHD's former Robert D. Orr Fellow, Wilson Jeremiah, MA.

The following lecture by Allen Verhey, MD, was originally presented at our 20th annual conference in 2013. All sessions from this conference are available to CBHD members here: cbhd.org/resources/audio/2013-health-human-flourishing-conference Interested in becoming a CBHD member? Learn more here: cbhd.org/subscribe

Did you miss the live sessions of our 28th annual conference, Bioethics & the Body? It's not too late! Don't miss your chance to learn from our amazing lineup of plenary speakers and workshops.  Register now through July 3rd and receive access to the recorded versions of all of our conference sessions through July 31st: http://cbhd.org/conf2021

The following lecture by Robert D. Orr, MD, was originally presented at Cutting Edge Bioethics: Human Life on the Line in 2005. All sessions from this conference are available to CBHD members here: cbhd.org/premium-content/2005-cutting-edge-bioethics-dallas-tx-archive Interested in becoming a CBHD member? Learn more here: cbhd.org/subscribe

The following lecture by D. A. Carson, PhD was originally presented at CBHD's 26th Annual Conference Taking Care: Perspectives for the End of Life. All conference sessions are available for purchase here: https://cbhd.org/content/2019-taking-care-perspectives-end-life-conference-audio

In this episode of the podcast, Bryan Just, CBHD's Event & Executive Services Manager, addresses a crucial and much-needed skill to manage today's MedTech world. Bryan's article comes to us from our Intersections forum which is located on our website, Everydaybioethics.com.

Help CBHD finish its fiscal year by donating a financial gift at cbhd.org/give-online

The following lecture by Nigel M. de S. Cameron, PhD, MBA was originally presented at 2015 Summer conference "Science, Research, and the Limits of Bioethics." The enduring legacy of Hippocrates lies in his establishment of medicine as both a scientific and a human enterprise, the foundation not merely for medical practice but the core cultural notion of a profession—an effort founded on both skill and values, with accountability for both baked into the community of those thus committed. The development of “bioethics” in the mid-20th century marked the fraying of both the substantive commitments of the tradition and the professional idea itself—bioethics both as a multi-disciplinary effort to manage growing disagreement, in some cases by re-affirming the substance of the tradition, more generally to assert the “human” character of the enterprise whatever particular values might be brought to it. The attempt of bioethics to bridge into public policy has proved generally ineffective and, despite modest successes, in part counter-productive. As emerging technologies supplant traditional questions at the science/tech/human interface it is plain that we need new models of understanding if we are concerned to affirm the centrality of human dignity, not simply for the 21st century but for, say, the 31st. The exponential character of technological change has only begun to re-shape the conditions for human experience.

This episode is an update of our recent article "Corona Virus Vaccine Ethics."

David Prentice, PhD, of the Family Research Council, on "Prenatal Diagnosis: An Overview of Testing Methods, Their Accuracy, Availability, and Use" at  the "Managing an Unexpected Prenatal Diagnosis: Critical Considerations for Counselors, Clinicians, and Friends" Conference (July 18, 2013) held at Trinity International University. Co-sponsored by Jerome Lejeune Foundation, USA; The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity; Family Research Council; and Med Students for Life

Learn more about our upcoming summer conference at cbhd.org/conf2021

This episode of The Bioethics Podcast will cover the five following ethical considerations in regards to the current Covid-19 vaccines: -Whether fast-tracked vaccines that short-cut Phase 3 trials, as in the case of two vaccines out of Russia and three out of China, are safe.  -Whether Emergency Use Authorization by the U.S. FDA of any of the vaccine candidates is valid. -Whether challenge trials are ethical, as in the case of the Imperial College of London trial in the UK. -Whether there is a fair way to distribute limited doses of the vaccine, and who should receive a vaccine first. -Whether the first vaccine approved by the FDA is the best vaccine and whether vulnerable populations should get the first vaccine or the “best” vaccine. -Whether people are morally obligated to get a COVID-19 vaccine, especially those who have already had the virus or are low-risk populations. -Whether there is a reason for conscientious objections to certain vaccines based on their development using fetal cell lines. -Whether a vaccine is necessary. -Whether mRNA vaccines, such as Moderna and Pfizer’s vaccines, are safe.

This podcast episode features a session from our 2020 conference, Bioethics in Real Life: Lessons We're Learning from Covid-19. In it, Joseph Wiinikka-Lydon addresses moral injury in the time of Covid-19.

Amidst the bustle of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday, and holiday parties, we may forget it is also the season of Advent. In this strange cultural juxtaposition of commercialism gone awry and theologically rich celebrations of historic Christian significance, several thoughts come to mind as we prepare for our holiday celebrations.

Executive Director of The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity addresses podcast listeners with Center news.

The following podcast was originally recorded at The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity 25th annual conference, Bioethics & Being Human. In this opening session of the conference, Dennis P. Hollinger, PhD delivers a presentation: "Framing the Discussion: Why Humanness is the Key to Bioethics."

We are living in extraordinary times. For most of the world, the global COVID-19 pandemic is at the forefront of people’s minds. The accompanying uncertainty has been almost palpable, and people are craving every bit of information that they can get their hands on. With most sporting events and other activities cancelled or delayed, the “armchair coaches” have had to turn to other interests; now most people have become “armchair epidemiologists,” debating the merits of mask wearing and physical distancing, weighing the risks of trying to reach heard immunity before a vaccine, and analyzing every facet of the government’s response from local to federal levels.

In this episode the Executive Director of CBHD, Matthew Eppinette, PhD,  interviews the newest Robert D. Orr Fellow, Wilson Jeremiah, MA.

Can bioethics be Christian? In the following commentary, we try to offer one perspective on how aspects of Christian theology can inform bioethics. We do not try to engage any one specific bioethical issue from a Christian perspective. Nor do we try to offer any new, groundbreaking way of thinking about bioethics from a theological perspective. Much more modestly, we seek to prime the pump by offering six loosely related points of entry into how to think about bioethics from a distinctively Christian perspective.

This episode of The Bioethics Podcast features an article originally posted on EverydayBioethics.org written by Michael Cox, PhD. 

In this episode the Interim Director of CBHD, Matthew Eppinette, PhD,  interviews former Robert D. Orr Fellow, Mario Tafferner, MA about the intersection of his studies in Old Testament and Bioethics.

This episode features an article originally published in CBHD's publication, Dignitas, by Dr. Susan Haack in which she explores the dynamics of the physician-patient relationship as she seeks to understand the continuum of possibilities between overt physician paternalism and unbridled patient autonomy. 

The resulting dilemma has yet to be even raised let alone considered: what resource allocation decisions are ethical for a healthcare system to make in this scenario? Ethicists must now consider the difficult issues of a groundbreaking third type of triage in civilian Mass Casualty Events (MCEs), in addition to intake and reverse triage.  This address was originally given at CBHD's 2015 Annual Conference, Science, Research, and the Limits of Bioethics.  This podcast is a resource provided by The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity

The following address by Christine Toevs will briefly review the history of medical research and the regulations surrounding emergency consent research, and discuss the ethics of research in a population that may not truly be informed of the risks and benefits, or even of the research itself. This address was originally given at CBHD's 2015 Annual Conference, Science, Research, and the Limits of Bioethics. This podcast is a resource provided by The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity

The “sanctity of life” is a phrase that in recent decades became commonplace in the moral and political debates concerning a wide range of bioethical issues: abortion, embryo research, cloning, genetic engineering, euthanasia, and others. Generally it is used by those of us who oppose technologies or practices that we believe violate the intrinsic value of human life. Some of us who use the term employ it more broadly to denote an ethical approach concerned not just with a handful of bioethical issues but the entire range of moral problems that human beings face, from abortion to poverty, from war to the death penalty, from child abuse to the environment.