Bioethics: from face transplants to saviour siblings

08 November 2004

UNSW is hosting the 7th World Congress of Bioethics, being held for the first time in Australia.

The four-day Congress, which begins Tuesday 9 November, will deal with many of the most contentious ethical issues facing society today: from IVF, surrogacy and paternity testing through to face transplants and genetic testing.

"The Congress will challenge people's ideas on what is included in bioethics and the manner of addressing these issues by different cultures," said Congress President, Associate Professor Paul McNeill, from the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at UNSW.

"People think of bioethics as about cloning and genetics - but it is much broader than that. It is about things which affect large numbers of people from ethics surrounding indigenous and refugee health through to equity of care.

"The theme of the Congress reflects these concerns," said Professor McNeill. "It is Deep Listening: bridging divides in local and global ethics which is about really listening to and understanding people from different backgrounds and what it is that they need."

Highlights of the 7th biennial Congress, which runs from 9 -12 November, include:

For more information and abstracts, go to the website.

For press passes to the Congress, or for further information, please contact: Susi Hamilton, UNSW Media unit, tel 9385 1583 or 0422 934 024.