The German Baltic Youth Forum: Cure or Design – What Kind of Genetic Engineering Do We Want and Which New Ethical Questions Does the Coronavirus Pandemic Raise?

The upcoming events are a wonderful opportunity for interested students and alumni (age 16-30) to participate in an interdisciplinary discussion (see below preliminary information about the discussions) and to challenge each other's thinking with participants outside the CEMS community.  The forum focuses on data sovereignty, digital society, genetic engineering, etc. as described further in the links below.

Cure or Design – What Kind of Genetic Engineering Do We Want and Which New Ethical Questions Does the Coronavirus Pandemic Raise? Since the very beginning of medical care ethical issues have been discussed. Duties like keeping patients’ information confidential or only offering treatment in accordance with the wellbeing of a patient have already been codified in the so-called Hippocratic Oath. Many of these are central to the professional ethos until today. The longstanding professional ethos has been challenged in recent times: with increasing treatment options patients and relatives ask if everything that is medically possible is also beneficial for the patient. Doctor-patient relationship changes and patients demand to get involved in decisions that concern their bodily integrity. The presentation will provide insights in ethical reasoning in medical ethics and their theoretical background, current debates and their clinical relevance and address what new ethical questions genetic engineering (CRISPR technology) and the current coronavirus pandemic raise. 

The presentation will be in English. Questions can be asked in English and German!

Dr. Julia Inthorn is director of  the interdisciplinary Center for Medical Ethics at the Protestant Academy of Loccum in Hannover Germany. Her research focus is on genetic risk and risk information, the structure of ethical decisions, intercultural bio-ethics, health and justice and bio politics. She studied mathematics and statistics at the Ludwig-Maximilian’s University in Munich, and earned a PhD in philosophy and adult education. Prior to her current position, which she has held since October 2019, Julia Inthorn was research associate at the Institute for Ethics and Law in Medicine at the University of Vienna and at the Department of Ethics and Medical History at the University of Göttingen. She has been a member of the Central Ethics Commission of the German Medical Association since 2016.

Register here today!