CAFÉ

BIOETHICS

Events

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Café Bioethics is an intellectually accessible forum where individuals, who do not necessarily have a background in bioethics, medicine, or law, can participate in laid-back philosophical discussion. Monthly events are welcome to anyone looking to participate in respectful discussion or curious listening!

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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have moved Café Bioethics online. So far, our conversations have revolved around pandemic ethics during the COVID-19 Spring Series. 

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Would you like to present at Café Bioethics? Contact us!

Café Bioethics is usually a live forum event where everyone is welcome to attend and comment on on presentations tackling difficult moral dilemmas.

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In the time of COVID-19, Bioethics has never been more relevant. Join us online to discuss the ethics involved in this pandemic during our COVID-19 Series. See upcoming events below!

Upcoming Events

  • Limits of a Duty to Care? A discussion with medical students
    TBD
    Limits of a Duty to Care? A discussion with medical students
    Zoom
    RSVP
    Time is TBD
    Zoom
    In the face of extraordinary risk, is there a limit to healthcare providers’ Hippocratic duty to care for their patients? This seminar is for medical students who wish to discuss the ethics and duty behind their chosen profession.
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  • Unrestricted MAID: A thought experiment
    Unrestricted MAID: A thought experiment
    RSVP Closed
    Details
    Jul. 26, 2020, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EDT
    Zoom
    What might we learn about access and justice if we follow the slippery slope all the way down? Join us to explore what society might look like in this fascinating thought experiment. Led by Sean Riley, MSc, MA.
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  • Global Health Ethics with Dr. Sridhar Venkatapuram
    Global Health Ethics with Dr. Sridhar Venkatapuram
    RSVP Closed
    Details
    Jul. 19, 2020, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EDT
    Zoom
    Join Nipa as she explores the global response to COVID-19 with prominent global health ethicist Dr. Sridhar Venkatapuram.
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  • Pandemic Protests
    Pandemic Protests
    RSVP Closed
    Details
    Jul. 12, 2020, 3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. EDT
    Zoom
    This presentation will discuss social and ethical concerns related to using scarce medical resources on COVID-19 patients who protested social distancing measures. Led by Thomas Fitzpatrick II, MS JD
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  • COVID-19 Vaccine: Will Canadians accept it?
    COVID-19 Vaccine: Will Canadians accept it?
    RSVP Closed
    Details
    Jun. 28, 2020, 3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. EDT
    Zoom
    As the race for the COVID-19 vaccine rages on, it is time we discuss vaccine confidence and hesitancy. Led by Maya Goldenberg, PhD
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  • Patients with schizophrenia and their experiences with legally mandated treatment
    Patients with schizophrenia and their experiences with legally mandated treatment
    RSVP Closed
    Details
    Jun. 23, 2020, 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. EDT
    Zoom
    This event is part of the Café Bioethics and Canadian Bioethics Society JUNE PARTNERSHIP Series.
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  • Ethical design & AI for Health: A structured review and theoretical critique
    Ethical design & AI for Health: A structured review and theoretical critique
    RSVP Closed
    Details
    Jun. 22, 2020, 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. EDT
    Zoom
    This event is part of the Café Bioethics and Canadian Bioethics Society JUNE PARTNERSHIP Series.
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  • Beyond the Clinic: The Future of Healthcare Delivery
    Beyond the Clinic: The Future of Healthcare Delivery
    RSVP Closed
    Details
    Jun. 21, 2020, 3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. EDT
    Zoom
    Post-lockdown, we will emerge into a new age of medicine where healthcare delivery is no longer confined to the clinic. In this brainstorming session, we will collaborate to define ethical concerns, and generate solutions that will best serve the public. Led by Nate Gerber, BFA & Marisa Dorling, BSc
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  • A new reality for Canadian hospice
    A new reality for Canadian hospice
    RSVP Closed
    Details
    Jun. 16, 2020, 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. EDT
    Zoom
    This event is part of the Café Bioethics and Canadian Bioethics Society JUNE PARTNERSHIP Series.
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  • Is MAID essential?
    Is MAID essential?
    RSVP Closed
    Details
    Jun. 14, 2020, 3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. EDT
    Zoom
    In the context of this pandemic, questions about access and necessity in relation to Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying legislation have seen a heightened, yet more refined, focus. Led by Sydney Campbell, PhD(c).
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  • Utility vs. Equity?
    Utility vs. Equity?
    RSVP Closed
    Details
    Jun. 07, 2020, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EDT
    Zoom
    In a social system with marginalized minorities, strict utilitarianism can have consequences that are problematically discriminatory. In this talk, we'll contrast the utilitarian maxim of ‘the greatest good for the greatest number’ with principles of equity. Led by Kayla Wiebe, PhD(c)
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  • On Confinement
    On Confinement
    RSVP Closed
    Details
    May 31, 2020, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EDT
    Zoom
    Widespread restrictions on movement experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic have a complex history bound up with gender, dis/ability, reproduction, and social justice. Join us as we explore social histories of confinement, and what they mean for present. Led by Alana Cattapan, PhD.
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  • Duty to Care: Is there a limit?
    Duty to Care: Is there a limit?
    RSVP Closed
    Details
    May 24, 2020, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EDT
    Zoom
    Doctors and nurses are dying from COVID-19 due to the scarcity of masks and other personal protective equipment. In the face of extraordinary risk, is there a limit to healthcare providers’ Hippocratic duty to care for their patients?
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  • Is criminalization justified for the sake of public health?
    Is criminalization justified for the sake of public health?
    RSVP Closed
    Details
    May 17, 2020, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EDT
    Zoom
    A discussion on whether criminal sanctions should be used for public health goals in a pandemic. Led by Teddy Weinstein, JD. Teddy Weinstein is a lawyer licensed to practice in Ontario. He completed his articling at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and was called to the Bar in 2019.
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  • Who gets the ventilator?
    Who gets the ventilator?
    RSVP Closed
    Details
    May 03, 2020, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EDT
    Zoom
    When there is a finite resource, that everyone has a right to, how should it be allocated? Is discrimination avoidable? Is equality the better principle? Is equity? Is utility? Join Nipa as she leads the discussion this Sunday, May 3rd.
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  • The Utility of a Bioethicist
    The Utility of a Bioethicist
    RSVP Closed
    Details
    Apr. 26, 2020, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EDT
    Zoom
    What is a bioethicist's role during a pandemic? What is it like to explore the pandemic's most difficult dilemmas? What does it mean for bioethics to be more relevant than ever?
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  • Are Pandemic Ethics Actually Ethical?
    Are Pandemic Ethics Actually Ethical?
    RSVP Closed
    Details
    Apr. 19, 2020, 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. EDT
    Zoom
    Join us for a relevant discussion on how ethics change when we shift focus from the individual's welfare to the population's. Lead by Jordan Joseph Wadden, University of British Columbia.
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  • The Costs of Social Distancing
    The Costs of Social Distancing
    RSVP Closed
    Details
    Apr. 12, 2020, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EDT
    Zoom
    As we distance ourselves from each other for the greater good, how are you processing the sacrifices we've had to make? From the devastated economy, to our privacy, to our fragmented social lives - join us to discuss the costs of social distancing.
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Check out more past events!