Come join us for a discussion of some of the most contentious and pressing bioethical issues today. Advanced directives, brain death, assisted suicide, in-vitro fertilization, biomedical research—Thomas More College has assembled renowned national experts from the bioethical and medical community to help us navigate some of the most vexing bioethical issues of our age.

Dr. Joseph Meaney is the Past President and Senior Fellow of the National Catholic Bioethics Center. Matt Vallière is the Executive Director of the Patients Rights Action Fund (PRAF), a national, secular, non-partisan leader defending the rights of patients, people with disabilities, the elderly, and the poor from the threat of legalized assisted suicide. Dr. Timothy Flanigan is a professor of medicine and health services, policy and practice at Brown University and the founder of the Inklings Project.

7:30 – 8:15 PM: Presentations
8:15 – 9:00 PM: Q & A
 

Joseph Meaney: “Brain Death, Advanced Directives and other Bioethical Questions”
Joseph Meaney received his PhD in bioethics from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome. His dissertation topic was Conscience and Health Care: A Bioethical Analysis. Dr. Meaney was director of international outreach and expansion for Human Life International (HLI) and is a leading expert on the international pro-life and family movement, having traveled to eighty-one countries on pro-life missions over the last twenty-five years.

 
Matt Vallière:  “Assisted Suicide—A Maleficent in Autonomy’s Clothing”
Matt Vallière is the Executive Director of the Patients Rights Action Fund (PRAF), a national, secular, non-partisan leader defending the rights of patients, people with disabilities, our elders, and the poor from the threat of legalized assisted suicide. He proudly serves as a volunteer emergency medical services first responder. As an experienced caregiver to people with life-threatening disabilities, Mr. Vallière is a tireless advocate for the rights of patients and people with disabilities, both in the medical setting and the public square.

 
Timothy Flanigan: “Chronic Illness and Patient Autonomy”
Dr. Timothy Flanigan is a member of the Division of Infectious Diseases at The Miriam and Rhode Island Hospitals and Alpert Medical School of Brown University. He came to Brown Medical School in 1991 to help establish a network of primary care for individuals living with HIV, with a particular focus on women, people who inject drugs and anyone leaving prison. He was the recipient of a community health leadership award from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for the development of outstanding primary care for underserved individuals living with HIV. Dr. Flanigan is a permanent deacon in the Catholic Diocese of Providence.

 
Moderator: Dr. William Fahey, President of Thomas More College of Liberal Arts