Conference News

The Institute of Bioethics at Franciscan University of Steubenville will host “Ethical Issues in Suffering and Death,” a conference for healthcare professionals, March 26-28, 2010.

"Death and suffering are the two topics that most often confront health care professionals and ethics committees in hospitals," says Dr. Patrick Lee, director of the Institute of Bioethics. "When do we withdraw life-sustaining treatment? Why does our society view suffering as the problem to be treated, rather than the mere symptom of a deeper problem?"

Ethical Issues in Suffering and Death will be the fifth conference sponsored by the Institute of Bioethics since its founding in 2007. The institute seeks to engage the modern culture and present the truth of the human person, following the call of Pope John Paul II in Evangelium Vitae for universities to provide the research, discussion, and articulation of arguments that stand up for and spread the culture of life.

"What's at stake in the current cultural debates about abortion and euthanasia," Lee says, "is whether we as a society are going to recognize the equal and inherent dignity of all human beings or not."

Continuing medical education credits will be available for doctors, nurses, and some other healthcare professionals through agreements with Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association.

For more information regarding speakers and registration, click here: Bioethics Conference.