History and Accomplishments

As an in house attorney for the University of Kansas Medical Center in the early 1980s, Mary Beth Blake observed how often Wyandotte County, Kansas judges had to be called into the rooms of dying patients to authorize certain medical decisions. 

"It was really distressing," she says.  "These were patients for whom aggressive measures were no longer appropriate.  Doctors were very nervous about legal consequences, even if they thought treatment was no longer appropriate.”   

Blake determined she would do something about it.  She just didn't quite know what.  "There just had to be a better way," she said.

That determination led Ms. Blake to a young psychiatrist and a bioethics philosopher who also believed we could do better for patients and families facing difficult medical choices.

More than two decades later, the Center for Practical Bioethics continues to work to fulfill the original vision of its founders. Its noteworthy accomplishments over that time demonstrate the depth and breadth of the Center's capacity to strategically address emerging ethical issues. And the Center's national reputation for action has drawn critical acclaim from national leaders across the country.