The second conference of the Society for Christian Bioethicists will take place online between October 20-21, 2023. The theme of the conference will be conscientious objection. The event will include a keynote address from Jason T. Eberl, a debate/discussion between Julian Savulescu and Xavier Symons, and a guest presentation from Dr Kate Jackson Meyer on moral distress in healthcare.

There will also be the opportunity for 30-45 minute presentations from anyone at any stage of their career (and any discipline).

Registration information will be sent out in due course. Please stay updated via the website: https://scbethics21.wordpress.com/conference-2023/

Keynote speaker information

Professor Julian Savulescu is a philosopher who researches the ethics of various new or emerging technologies, including new methods of reproduction and enhancement of physical and cognitive performance through drugs or genetic manipulation. He is director of the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics and Uehiro Professor of Practical Ethics, and is or has been a co-director on many large research projects, looking at topics from geoengineering to vaccines.

Jason T. Eberl is professor of health care ethics and philosophy and director of the Albert Gnaegi Center for Health Care Ethics at Saint Louis University. His research interests include the philosophy of human nature and its application to issues at the margins of life; ethical issues related to end-of-life care, genetics, biotechnology, and health care allocation; and the philosophical thought of Thomas Aquinas. His most recent book is The Nature of Human Persons: Metaphysics and Bioethics, Thomistic Principles and Bioethics.

Xavier Symons, Ph.D., is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University. He previously worked as a bioethicist at the Australian Catholic University and The University of Notre Dame Australia. Xavier's research interests include ethical issues at the beginning and end of life, conscientious objection, the ethics of healthcare resource allocation, and pandemic ethics. His first book,Why Conscience Matters: A Defence of Conscientious Objection in Healthcare, was published in July 2022 by Routledge.

Kate Jackson-Meyer is a member of the faculty in the Theology Department at Boston College. Her scholarship and teaching are focused on theological ethics, bioethics, and the ethics of war and peacemaking.