Bioethics & the Scientific World Conference in U.N. Plaza

The program is out for the IHEU/Appignani Center for Bioethics/Genetics Policy Institute/Alden March Bioethics Institute "Is There a Global Bioethics? Moral, Legal, and International Norms in Bioscience" conference April 21-23rd in New York City at the U.N. plaza offices of the Center. From the press release:

The conference will involve more than two dozen major speakers who will discuss the entity of bioethics and its place in the scientific world through paper presentations and panel discussions.

Topics in the panel discussion include: stem cell research, genetic engineering and human rights, reproductive and sexual rights of women, the United Nations as a forum for bioethics, intellectual property in global bioscience, ethical issues in infectious disease control, and the challenge of evolutionary theory.

The conference will open with a cocktail reception for which you must RSVP (by calling Ana Lita at (212) 687-3324 or by email at AnaLita@iheu.org), from 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m., taking place at the Turkish Consulate General, Culture & Tourism Office located on 821 United Nations Plaza in New York City with the following speakers:

Arthur Caplan is currently the Emmanuel and Robert Hart Professor of Bioethics, is also the chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia.

Johan Scholvinck, Ph.D. is currently Director of the Division for Social Policy and Development of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). He has held positions in the UN Secretariat for population and development policy, and Chief of the Policy Coordination Branch in the Division for ECOSOC Support and Coordination. He is responsible for cooperation on issues of aging, persons with disabilities, youth and the family and support for the UN Commission on Social Development, ECOSOC, as well as the General Assembly Second and Third Committees. Dr. Scholvinck holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Economics from Cornell University, USA and is a national of The Netherlands.

Paul Kurtz, professor emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo, is a former co-president of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU). He is the editor in chief of Free Inquiry magazine.

The main discussions will take place on Saturday, April 22 and Sunday, April 23, 8:30 am - 3:30 pm at 777 UN Plaza, 2nd Floor, NYC, NY 100.