I want to live forever. Is that ethical?
Glenn McGee, PhD
John B. Francis Chair in Bioethics
February 24, 2010
5 pm Reception
6 pm Lecture
Kauffman Foundation
4801 Rockhill Road
Kansas City, MO 64110
Registration is free but RSVP requested.
Email Donna Blackwood at dblackwood@practicalbioethics.org or call (816)979-1352.
Every American, insured or not, rich or poor, no matter their culture, dies. Until then, in the midst of all life's glories and failures, we and those we love make choice after choice about our medical care.
Today, bioethics is focused on helping people make difficult choices in an informed way, choices that often involve how we or others will die. But what happens when science offers an opportunity for individuals to evade the grave entirely, or at least for another 25, 50 or 100 years?
Is it ethical for individuals, or for society generally, to take advantage of technologies that will change our entire notion of what it means to age? Is it okay to want to live forever?
Is that a drive, a part of being human? Is the longing for longer life beginning to replace the call to "eternal" life that defines many religions?
Dr. Glenn McGee will explore the ethical choices created by the incredible new technologies that are changing how long we can live, and challenge your thinking about the ethics of living and dying.
About Glenn McGee
Glenn McGee, PhD holds the John B. Francis Chair in Bioethics at the Center for Practical Bioethics and is Editor-in-Chief of The American Journal of Bioethics (AJOB), the highest impact bioethics, health services, health economics or health law journal in the English language. He also heads the new AJOB family of journals, including AJOB Primary Research and AJOB Neuroscience.
In December, 2009 Dr. McGee joined the Center where he will continue his research, writing, and public policy advocacy.
Glenn received his PhD at Vanderbilt University and his BA at Baylor, where he was
named one of the "top 150 graduates of all time" in 2008. He also completed a post-doctoral fellowship in genetics at the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. McGee has received many awards for his work, including the lifetime achievement award from the Appignani Humanist Foundation at the United Nations in 2007.
His research, which focuses on the family, genetics and reproduction has made him a sought after commentator and speaker. He has been quoted in newspapers worldwide and has been a guest on the Today Show, Fresh Air, Oprah, Nightline, and ABC World News Tonight. From 2005-07, Dr. McGee authored a monthly column for The Scientist, the most widely read magazine for scientists.
Dr. McGee has taught bioethics to incoming members of the U.S. Congress and has held workshops on bioethics for the Association of Chief Justices of the US Courts of Appeals.
Dr. McGee is also an acknowledged pioneer and leader in electronic outreach in bioethics.
Glenn McGee has three sons, Ethan, Austin and Aidan and lives in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.
