Jewish Bioethics Conference

[Yehudah A Potok]

I would like to bring to your attention an exciting conference planned for
May in Philadelphia on Jewish Bioethics.  Titled "Jewish Bioethics at the
Crossroads," this annual conference features an international faculty and
special guests like Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut.  As it
continues next year in Boston and in the year 2000 in New York, it promises
to set the standard for Jewish Bieothical thinking and debate for years to
come.

Please try to attend this exciting event.  If you want to register, please
call Tameka Childs at 215-573-9378, and she will send a brochure and
registration form.

Thank-you.

Paul Root Wolpe, Ph.D.


The First Annual

JEWISH BIOETHICS AT THE CROSSROADS

An International Conference Exploring Jewish Bioethics in the 21st Century

Sunday, May 3 and
Monday, May 4, 1998
Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel
Philadelphia, PA

Sponsored by:

Allegheny University of the Health Sciences
The Center for Bioethics of the University of Pennsylvania
National Museum of American Jewish History
The Finkelstein Institute of the Jewish Theological Seminary
The American Physicians Fellowship for Medicine in Israel
Center for Judaic Studies of Boston University

In Collaboration with:

The Israel 50 Committee of Philadelphia
Hadassah medical Organization of Jerusalem
The Center for Jewish Ethics of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College


Each day seems to bring tales of new medical miracles. Yet every promising
development in medicine also presents new ethical challenges.  Judaism has
a distinguished history of struggling over ethical issues in medicine, and
its unique perspective has traditionally contributed to the considerations
of society  in general.  As the secular calendar turns to a new millenium,
and in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of Israel's founding, scholars
from the United States and Israel will gather in Philadelphia to discuss
and debate the future of medicine, and Judaism's contribution to solving
its ethical dilemmas.


Conference  Committee:

Honorary Chair:		Sherif S. Abdelhak, President
				Allegheny University of the Health Sciences

Conference Chairs:	Walter Cohen, D.D.S.,  Chancellor
				Allegheny University of the Health Sciences

	Arthur Caplan, Ph.D., Director
	Center for Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania

	Rabbi Gerald I. Wolpe, Director
	Finkelstein Institute of the Jewish Theological Seminary

	Margo Bloom, Director
	National Museum of American Jewish History

Conference Director:		Paul Root Wolpe, Ph.D.
	Center for Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania


General Information

Location:  	The Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel,
	17th and Race Streets, Philadelphia, PA

Lodging:	Accommodations at the Franklin Plaza are available for a
conference rate of $135/night single occupancy, $145/night double occupancy
until April 2, 1998, after which reservations will be accepted on a aspace
available basis.  Please call 215-448-2000 to make reservations, and
identify yourself as attending the Jewish Bioethics Conference.

	Other reasonably priced hotels within walking distance include:
	Embassy Suites, 1776 Benjamin Franklin Parkway;  800-362-2779
	Holiday Inn Select, 18th and Market Sts.; 800-465-4329
	Korman Suites, 20th and Hamilton Streets; 215-569-7000

Transportation: 	The hotel is about 20 minutes from Philadelphia
International Airport and 10 minutes from Amtrak's 30th Street station.
Parking is available at the hotel for $6.00 per day, $14.00 overnight.

Conference Schedule

Sunday, May 3, 1998
8:00 am	Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00 am	Introduction and Welcome
		Leonard L. Ross, Ph.D., Provost, Allegheny University of
the Health Sciences
		Arthur Caplan, Ph.D., Director, Center for Bioethics,
University of Pennsylvania
		Walter Cohen, D.D.S., Chancellor, Allegheny University of
the Health Sciences
9:15 am	First Plenary Session
What Do You Do When They Accuse You of Being Sectarian?  Religious Voices
in Public Policy

Statement of the Problem: Jerome Shestack, Esq., President, American Bar
Association

Respondents
Seth Kreimer, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania Law School
Shimon Glick, M.D., Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
Stefan Presser, J.D., American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania
Dena Davis, JD, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
Rabbi David Saperstein, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism,
Washington, D.C.

11:30 pm	Movie Screening
Presentor:   Judith Helfand , filmmaker
Film: "A Healthy Baby Girl"

12:30 pm	Lunch and Discussion

Response to Film:
Laurie Zoloth-Dorfman, Ph.D., San Francisco State University
Janet Fleetwood, Ph.D., Allegheny University of the Health Sciences
Dawn Robinson Rose, Ph.D., Center for Jewish Ethics
Blu Greenberg, Author
Ann Lapidus Lerner, Jewish Theological Seminary

2:00 pm	Breakout Sessions

1) Organ Transplantation:
Arthur Caplan, Ph.D., Center For Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania
Fred Rosner, M.D., Mt. Sinai School of Medicine
Rabbi Aaron Mackler, Ph.D., Dept. of Theology, Duquesne University
Renee Fox, Ph.D., Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania
Bernard Kaplan, M.D., Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

2) Sexuality and Reproduction
Paul Root Wolpe, Ph.D., Center For Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania
Rabbi Eliott Dorff, University of Judaism, Las Angeles, CA
Dawn Robinson Rose, Ph.D., Center for Jewish Ethics
Noam Zohar, Ph.D., Bar Ilan University
Andrea Braverman, Ph.D., Pennsylvania Hospital

3) Death and Dying
Rabbi Gerald Wolpe, The Finklestein Institute
Baruch Brody, Ph.D., Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor
University
Shimon Glick, M.D., Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
Avraham Steinberg, M.D., Center for Medical Ethics, Hebrew University 
Hadassah
Samuel Klagsburg, M.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY

3:30 pm	Third Plenary Session

Genetics and Jews:  Concerns about the Future and the Lessons of the Past

Statement of the Problem:  Michael Grodin, M.D., School of Medicine and
Public Health, Boston University

Respondents:
Paul Root Wolpe, Ph.D., Center for Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania
Rabbi Harlan Wechsler, Jewish Theological Seminary
Henri Atlan, M.D., Ph.D., Hadassah Medical Organization
Avraham Steinberg, M.D., Center for Medical Ethics, Hebrew 
University/Hadassah

5: 00 pm	Break

7:00 pm	Evening Banquet
Distinguished Guest Speaker:
Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut (Invited Guest)

Monday, May 4, 1998

8:30 am	Continental breakfast

9:00 am	Fourth Plenary Session
Duty vs. Rights:  A Session in Memory of Benjamin Freedman

Statement of the Problem:  Laurie Zoloth-Dorfman, Ph.D., Director, Program
in Jewish Studies, San Francisco State University

Respondents:
Noam Zohar, Ph.D., Bar Ilan University
Fred Rosner, M.D., Mt. Sinai School of Medicine
Baruch Brody, Ph.D., Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor
university
Rabbi David Teutsch, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College

10:30 am	Fifth Plenary Session:
Learning from Each Other: Medical Care Delivery in Israel and the U.S.

Statement of the Problem:  Avi Israeli, M.D., Associate Director-General,
Hadassah Medical Organization

Respondents:
Jacob Getson, President, JRG Associates
Sanford Schwartz, M.D., Leonard Davis Institute, University of Pennsylvania
Zack Kassutto, M.D., St. Christopher Hospital for Children
Rabbi Eliott Dorff, University of Judaism, Los Angeles, CA

12:00 pm	Lunch
Lunch Speaker:
Barbara Weber, M.D., University of Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Program

2:30 pm	Final Plenary Session:  Fred Friendly Style
The Jewish Family in Bioethical Crisis
Moderator:
Arthur Caplan, Ph.D., Director, Center for Bioethics, University of
Pennsylvania

	Various Faculty

4:00 pm	Closing Remarks

PLEASE CONTACT TAMEKA CHILDS AT THE CENTER FOR BIOETHICS, 215-573-9378,
FOR A BROCHURE.  CONTACT PAUL ROOT WOLPE, PH.D., 215-898-7136 FOR
INFORMATION AND QUESTIONS.


*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
Paul Root Wolpe, Ph.D.
Center for Bioethics and
Department of Sociology
University of Pennsylvania
3401 Market St., Suite 320
Philadelphia PA 19104

email:  wolpep at mail.med.upenn.edu
phone: (215) 898-7136

Center for Bioethics webpage:
http://www.med.upenn.edu/bioethics