Meeting to weigh medical ethics.Byline: Tim Christie The Register-Guard For the past five years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time people of Iceland have been part of an audacious and controversial science project, in which a private company has been studying their genetic, genealogical and medical histories in hopes of learning how some genes cause disease. The willingness of Icelanders to participate in such a project represents a leap of faith in science and private enterprise unlikely to be seen in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , said Halla Thorsteinsdottir, an Icelander who studies genomics at the University of Toronto Research at the University of Toronto has been responsible for the world's first electronic heart pacemaker, artificial larynx, single-lung transplant, nerve transplant, artificial pancreas, chemical laser, G-suit, the first practical electron microscope, the first cloning of T-cells, . "I don't think (Icelanders) consider this a risky venture," she said. That's because Iceland has a national health system that covers all citizens, so there's no risk that an individual's private health information could jeopardize his or her health coverage, she said. Icelanders also see the project as a "clean way of stimulating the economy," she said. And they don't hold the same sense of privacy as do Americans. Thorsteinsdottir is among the scientists, ethicists and medical professionals speaking at a medical ethics medical ethics The moral construct focused on the medical issues of individual Pts and medical practitioners. See Baby Doe, Brouphy, Conran, Jefferson, Kevorkian, Quinlan, Roe v Wade, Webster decision. symposium today and Saturday at the University of Oregon The University of Oregon is a public university located in Eugene, Oregon. The university was founded in 1876, graduating its first class two years later. The University of Oregon is one of 60 members of the Association of American Universities. . The event, titled "Medical Ethics in Cross-Cultural Perspective: Scandinavia and North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. ," is free and open to the public. The conference is part of a three-year series of events in the northwestern United States Noun 1. northwestern United States - the northwestern region of the United States Northwest western United States, West - the region of the United States lying to the west of the Mississippi River and Canada intended to highlight the cultural intersections and differences between Scandinavia and the United States. Organizers said Oregon was chosen as the site for the medical ethics event because of the state's leadership on issues such as physician-assisted suicide Noun 1. physician-assisted suicide - assisted suicide where the assistant is a physician assisted suicide - suicide of a terminally ill person that involves an assistant who serves to make dying as painless and dignified as possible , medical marijuana and the Oregon Health Plan The Oregon Health Plan is the Oregon state healthcare program for low income residents of Oregon. Eligibility Basic eligibility requires that the applicant be a resident of Oregon, as a citizen or otherwise. . Speakers will address topics such as the ethical issues surrounding studies of human skeletal remains, the pursuit of happiness, and health resource allocation resource allocation Managed care The constellation of activities and decisions which form the basis for prioritizing health care needs decisions. Thorsteinsdottir will talk about the Iceland genomics project, which has been controversial since its inception in 1998. The Icelandic parliament passed a law calling for the creation of a centralized database of all citizens' genealogical, genetic and personal medical information. The government granted deCode Genetics, a publicly trade biomedical bi·o·med·i·cal adj. 1. Of or relating to biomedicine. 2. Of, relating to, or involving biological, medical, and physical sciences. company, exclusive access to the national health records. The idea is that combining genetic information with Iceland's unique medical and genealogical records will allow scientists to identify genetic traits of inherited diseases, and ultimately to develop drugs to attack those diseases at the genetic level. Iceland's character makes it an ideal genomic laboratory: It's a small, isolated country with a relatively small population - about 275,000 people - stemming from 20,000 founders, and with little in-migration. It has detailed medical records dating to 1915. And genealogy is a big part of Icelandic culture: 80 percent of all Icelandic people can be placed on a computerized genealogical database. Medical ethicists and others are closely watching the project. An opposition group called Mannvernd asserts that the project infringes on human rights, personal privacy, and accepted medical, scientific and commercial standards. Thorsteinsdottir said the main ethical questions about the project involve consent: Icelanders were presumed to be included in the database and had to make a specific effort to "opt out." The vast majority stayed in, which Thorsteinsdottir attributes to Icelandic culture. Americans might be loath to be included in such a project for fearing of losing their privacy. "But in a small society, there is not a lot of privacy," she said. "The need to protect privacy is less because you can't protect it very well." MEDICAL ETHICS "Medical Ethics in Cross-Cultural Perspective: Scandinavia and North America" is the title of a symposium Friday and Saturday at Lillis Hall on the University of Oregon campus The University of Oregon campus in Eugene, Oregon has around 80 buildings and facilities, including athletics sites such as Hayward Field, which is the site for the 2008 Olympic Track and Field Trials, and McArthur Court, and off-campus sites such as nearby Autzen Stadium and the . The event is free and open to the public . Today: Events begin at 5 p.m. and feature a keynote address at 6 p.m. by Dr. Per Christian Jersild, a novelist and member of the Swedish National Council on Medical Ethics and a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences. Saturday: Speakers begin at 9 a.m. and continue until at 6:30 p.m. at 211 Lillis Hall. On the Internet: A complete list of symposium speakers and topics, as well as times and places, is available at: scandinavian.uoregon.edu/symposium.php |
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