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McDonald-Merrill-Ketcham Lecture to Focus on the Role of Conscience in Healthcare
03/10/2022
Healthcare raises complex ethical, moral, and legal issues for patients and practitioners, so what role should conscience play in decision-making when it comes to reproductive and gender-affirming care, or end-of-life treatment?
Elizabeth Sepper, law professor at the University of Texas at Austin, will explore that question when she delivers the annual McDonald-Merrill-Ketcham Memorial Lecture, “The Law and Ethics of Conscience in Healthcare,” and receives the Award for Excellence in Law and Medicine on Friday, March 25.
Professor Sepper is a nationally recognized scholar of health law, religious liberty, and equality. She has written extensively on conscientious refusals to provide reproductive and end-of-life healthcare and on conflicts over religion and insurance coverage.
The lecture, which begins at noon, will be followed by a panel presentation, “Reproductive Rights in Healthcare.” Panelists include:
- Dr. Stephanie Boys, associate professor, IU School of Social Work, and adjunct professor of law at IU McKinney and IU Maurer School of Law.
- Dr. Mary Ott, professor of pediatrics and adolescent medicine at the IU School of Medicine, adjunct professor of philosophy and bioethics, and member of the core faculty of the IU Center for Bioethics.
- Jane Hartsock, director of clinical and organizational ethics for the Academic Health Center, Fairbanks Center for Medical Ethics, faculty investigator at the IU School of Medicine Center for Bioethics, and adjunct professor of Medical Humanities and Health Studies at IUPUI.
The annual McDonald-Merrill-Ketcham Memorial Lectureship and Award for Excellence in Law and Medicine is supported by a bequest to the IU McKinney School of Law and the Indiana University School of Medicine. This lecture and award bring leading scholars and policy makers in the fields of law and medicine to the Indianapolis campus for the benefit of students, faculty, the bar, and the medical community.
Registration for this event is required. Two hours of traditional Indiana CLE credit is available.
