PRESS RELEASE

Release Date: April 10, 2006

CBHD Welcomes BIO 2006 and Encourages Ethical Reflection

Chicago, Illinois - April 10, 200 - The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity welcomes BIO 2006 to the Chicago area. Hosted by the Biotechnology Industry Organization, BIO 2006 is the world's largest biotech conference bringing together nearly 20,000 researchers, scientists, and government officials to maximize the potential of this burgeoning industry.

Biotechnology, the use of biological processes to solve problems and create products, has proven to be a boon to humanity over the past quarter century. The law of unintended consequences reminds us, however, that well-intended interventions in natural processes can have adverse outcomes, both environmentally and ethically.

“Being bounded by appropriate ethical norms helps to maximize the goods that science can bring while minimizing the potential harms,” says CBHD President Dr. Andrew Fergusson, “CBHD believes that the Judeo-Christian/Hippocratic view of human dignity provides just such a comprehensive framework.”

Biotech issues will remain at the forefront of ethics and public policy for decades to come. While economic advancement and scientific progress are important societal goals, human dignity must take precedence. CBHD encourages both the conference participants and the biotech industry as a whole to set recognition of dignity as the guiding principle in all their endeavors.
 

For Interviews with Center Personnel

Contact Joe Carter, Director of Communications, at 847-525-4184, or by email at jpcarter@cbhd.org

About The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity

The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity is a 501(c)(3) non-profit international center located just north of Chicago, Illinois. Its mission is to protect human dignity by developing reasoned perspectives on all of today’s bioethical issues and to disseminate them to health care professionals, academia, cultural and church leaders, public policy makers, and the media.CBHD

Copyright 2006 by The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity

The contents of this article do not necessarily reflect the opinions of CBHD, its staff, board or supporters. Permission to reprint granted as long as The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity and the web address for this article is referenced.