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April 2018 EACME Newsletter
Contents
Editorial G. Birchley
News from the EACME Bureau B. Molewijk
Promoting the next generation 5th edition of the Oxford – Amsterdam Winter School S. Metselaar
EUREC-ANCEI joint Conference P. Ferrer Salvans
The role of ethics experts in clinical ethical decision making EACME Prize winner 2017 A. Gasparetto
The History of EACME. A Personal Narrative P. Schotsmans
Balancing Best Interests in Healthcare, Ethics and Law R. Huxtable
The Bonn PRINTEGER Consensus Statement E.-M. Forsberg
Enjeux déontologiques dans la procréation médicalement assistée J. Martin
Announcement of Nursing Ethics scholarship award G. Moreley
Introducing the Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities C. Henrichs
Deadline of next EACME Newsletter
Editorial Board
Editorial
Bioethics is often perceived as bridging the controversies dividing partisan positions, by clarifying objections and establishing common ground. Yet even the existence of an area of study called ‘bioethics’ can engender controversy. Some in environmental ethics reject the focus of bioethics as being too focused on human needs and experiences. Prominent voices in computer ethics go further and argue even the term bioethics reflects a focus that is too biologically centred, that makes no allowances for artificial intelligences. This should remind us that bioethics has a history that has led to certain basic assumptions. How transparent we make these assumptions is limited, not just by the form of academic and clinical discourse, but by the ability of the human mind to maintain a focus. Few of us work from first principles each morning. Those of us working in medical ethics are often concerned with applying ethical principles in practice. We devote large periods of our working lives to this task, working in intensely applied fields such as research ethics and clinical ethics consultation. Yet it is important, amidst these earthier endeavours, that we strike a balance with the need to be inquisitive about the provenance and form of the basic assumptions that undergird our practice. In this edition of the EACME newsletter I hope that, even if such a balance is not perfectly made, we show some recognition of it. Thus, amongst the articles that follow there is an informative report on last year’s European Congress of Research Ethics Committees, an article on the history of our organisation, an investigation of the concept of expertise in clinical ethics consultation and a discussion of issues in reproductive autonomy. We are also reminded of the breadth, scope and dynamism of our association by reports of established and new projects and centres. As ever, I hope you find what follows a fair reflection of, not just EACME, but the broader project of bioethics.
Dr Giles Birchley
Centre for Ethics in Medicine, University of Bristol, U.K.
Download the full April 2018 EACME Newsletter
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