Rev. Kevin FitzGerald, S.J., to present Ethics and Leadership in Bioethics lecture on April 12

MOBILE – Spring Hill College will host the 2007 Ethics and Leadership in Bioethics lecture on Thursday, April 12. The Rev. Kevin FitzGerald, S.J., will present “The Brave New World of Biomedical Research – A Catholic Response” at 7 p.m. in Byrne Memorial Hall, located on the college campus. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Fitzgerald’s lecture will examine new advances in biotechnology – from cloning and stem cell research to the most recent discoveries. He argues that the new technologies will raise ethical issues that will make us look back at the current polarized debates about cloning and stem cells and wonder what we were arguing about. Fitzgerald cautions that his overall view, which is rooted in a Jesuit tradition that calls on discernment and promotes a faith that does justice, is “a Catholic perspective, not the Catholic perspective.”

FitzGerald is the Dr. David Lauler Chair in Catholic Health Care Ethics at Georgetown University and a research associate professor in the Department of Oncology at Georgetown University Medical Center. FitzGerald has earned doctorates in molecular genetics and in bioethics from Georgetown University and a Master of Divinity degree from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley.

This Ethics and Leadership in Bioethics lecture is possible due to the generosity of Dr. Dennis McCluskey, trustee and 1973 graduate of Spring Hill College. Spring Hill College, Mercy Medical, Providence Hospital and Southern Cancer Center are sponsors for this event. Continuing Education Credits in nursing and social work (2 hours credit) will be available courtesy of Mercy Medical.

For more information on the lecture, contact the Division of Philosophy and Theology at (251) 380-4660.   ##