| Submitted to Program Units |
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| 1: Bioethics and Religion Unit |
Karen LeBacqz was one of the first women in the field of American bioethics, serving on the first Presidential Bioethics Commission under Jimmy Carter, writing the Belmont report, the National Commission on Human Subjects, serving as an advisor to the projects in biotechnology, stem cell research, and the Human Genome Project, and publishing six books, among them "Six Theories of Justice" and "Justice in an Unjust World," which was one of the first books to describe liberation theology in detail to a new audience in North America. She was instrumental in structuring some of the first policies to regulate research science and was critical to advancing theological arguments within the field of basic research as well. Her work on the protection of human subjects in clinical trials remains as the foundation for all work in that practice today. Her leadership of early debates about the Human Genome Project and human embryonic stem cells was pivotal in expanding the role of religious ethics in public life. In addition to her legacy in bioethics, Lebacqz also served and wrote foundation work in the field of Christian ethics, with special attention to the growing field of feminist ethics. She served as the President of the Society for Christian Ethics and wrote key documents about ethics within the profession of ethics itself. Her work on sexual ethics continues as the basis for pedagogy and practice in that arena. As a professor at the Graduate Theological Union, for over 30 years, she taught a generation of scholars, stressing always the need to foreground questions of justice in bioethics, drawing them into projects as a part of doctoral education. The scholars on this panel, all of whom were trained under Lebacqz, remain active in the various practices of bioethics, clinical ethics, and social ethics, grateful for her rigor, her teaching, and her support of our feminist scholarship.
Yet, her work is relatively unknown in comparison to the men with whom she served: Callahan, Jonson, Englehardt, Brody, and Gaylin, and she is often left out of histories of the field of bioethics when it is taught or recorded. This panel will reflect on Lebacqz's contributions to the field and their long afterlife. We will then think carefully about the question of who is central to our developing canon and how to allow a wider range of voices to shape our discourse.
After each panelist offers their remarks, then Professor Lebacqz will respond with her reflections on her career as a scholar and a teacher.
Abstract for Online Program Book (maximum 150 words)
Karen LeBacqz was one of the first women in the field of American bioethics, serving on the first Presidential Bioethics Commission under Jimmy Carter, writing the Belmont report, the National Commission on Human Subjects, serving as an advisor to the projects in biotechnology, stem cell research, and the Human Genome Project, and publishing six books, among them Six Theories of Justice and Justice in an Unjust World. She was instrumental in structuring some of the first policies to regulate science, and critical to advancing theological arguments within our field. As a professor at the Graduate Theological Union, she taught a generation of scholars, stressing always the need to foreground questions of justice in bioethics. Yet, her work is relatively unknown in comparison to the men with whom she served: Callahan, Jonson, Englehardt, Brody, Gaylin, and Jameton. This panel will reflect both on her contributions to the field and think carefully about the question of how and who is central to our developing canon.