Oral

This session presents papers involving the intersection of ethics, policy, politics and public health. The papers examine current domains at this intersection: a) the issue of torture; b) commodification of the body under the demands of bioetechnology and shifting legal definitions; c) the problem of extraordinary (‘public health emergencies’) and normal public health powers (“if certain extreme measures are justified in a pandemic, could it be that these are equally justified in ‘normal' circumstances?”) and limits in ethical analysis when event outcomes are difficult to predict; and d) ethical issues in the public representation of science using as an example stem cell research, attendant controversies, and related policy formation. These areas promise to be ongoing domains of discussion, reflection and policy development.

Session Objectives: • Identify salient features in controversies at the intersection of policy, politics, ethics and public health. • Articulate a definition of torture, its justifications, consequences, and an ethical critique from duty-based, utilitarian and civil rights perspectives. • Discuss how the body and rights concerning the body are impacted by cultural boundaries, biotechnology’s impact on understood boundaries, and the role of risk and intent in legal determinations on the use of the body and its parts. • Articulate and critique the concept of a public health emergency and how and why emergency contexts (e.g. a pandemic) impact the moral evaluation and justifications of public health interventions. • Recognize information as a public health good, identifying responsibilities of authoritative communicators in technically and ethically controversial domains (e.g. stem cell research and policy), and commitments necessary for the ethical public representation of science amidst interest pressures.

CE Credits: CME, Health Education (CHES), Nursing