But Who Has tradition Left Behind?
Hazel Elizabeth Koshy, MA, JD - Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia, PA Lauren Baker, PhD(c) - Saint Louis University Brandy Fox, PhD(c) - Saint Louis University Jaime Konerman-Sease, PhD(c) - Saint Louis University Kathryn E Sheldon, MA, PhD Fellow - Saint Louis University (moderator)
When considering the history of medicine and its future trajectory, this panel of women scholars seeks to center those voices that have been largely overlooked and left out of traditional medical and religious practice, as we argue for their necessary inclusion moving forward. With varying and intersecting backgrounds in bioethics, theology, education, activism, and criminal prosecution, together we present a panel of feminist bioethics perspectives critiquing current clinical practice and systems of care, along with their underlying philosophical assumptions that tend to privilege those in power. Keeping with feminist theory, we do not only highlight women’s issues, but also ethnic, racial, gender and sexual minority issues as they affect the health and wellbeing of the most vulnerable patients.
While we present based on our expertise in diverse areas, these topics weave together and intersect to create one cohesive panel that we hope will foster discussion and generate ideas for how to make medical practice and worship community more inclusive, both practically and philosophically. Based on our personal and professional experience, our topics range from overlooked issues in perinatal health affecting both mothers and babies, to the phenomenon of “mercy killing” among male caregivers in a largely female-caregiver-dominated hospice system, to women’s pain and chronic illness, to the unique needs of patients who are also victims of violent crime, to how our current trauma narratives falsely center the model of white-woman’s trauma, overlooking the way trauma is experienced by anyone else. These are not only healthcare issues: they are issues which are entrenched in and reinforced by culture, religion, societal norms, and legal practice. We therefore argue not only for changes in clinical practice, but also see community engagement as necessary to effect meaningful, lasting inclusion.
Those attending this panel should expect to: 1. Encounter perspectives and issues in bioethics of which they have not previously been aware 2. Understand how traditional clinical and religious practice privileges select voices while neglecting others 3. Participate in discussion and brainstorming of novel ways to center the voices and needs of marginalized persons in medical practice 4. Leave with at least one action point they can implement, whether in the clinic, in worship community, in legal practice, in education, or in their respective fields
While we present based on our expertise in diverse areas, these topics weave together and intersect to create one cohesive panel that we hope will foster discussion and generate ideas for how to make medical practice and worship community more inclusive, both practically and philosophically. Based on our personal and professional experience, our topics range from overlooked issues in perinatal health affecting both mothers and babies, to the phenomenon of “mercy killing” among male caregivers in a largely female-caregiver-dominated hospice system, to women’s pain and chronic illness, to the unique needs of patients who are also victims of violent crime, to how our current trauma narratives falsely center the model of white-woman’s trauma, overlooking the way trauma is experienced by anyone else. These are not only healthcare issues: they are issues which are entrenched in and reinforced by culture, religion, societal norms, and legal practice. We therefore argue not only for changes in clinical practice, but also see community engagement as necessary to effect meaningful, lasting inclusion.
Those attending this panel should expect to: 1. Encounter perspectives and issues in bioethics of which they have not previously been aware 2. Understand how traditional clinical and religious practice privileges select voices while neglecting others 3. Participate in discussion and brainstorming of novel ways to center the voices and needs of marginalized persons in medical practice 4. Leave with at least one action point they can implement, whether in the clinic, in worship community, in legal practice, in education, or in their respective fields