The University Faculty for Life held its annual Life and Learning Conference at Marquette University in Milwaukee from June 10-11. The focus this year’s conference was on end-of-life issues.
The conference featured three plenary sessions, several break-out sessions, and a panel discussion of brain death as a criterion for determining when death occurs.
Plenary speakers included
- Timothy Jessick, DO, Specialist in Hospice and Palliative Care, Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center, Milwaukee.
- Thomas Cavanaugh (University of San Francisco) whose talk was called, “Let Me Count the Ways: Why Physicians Ought Not Kill.”
- Christopher Wolfe (University of Dallas) whose talk was called, “Washington v. Glucksberg and Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Pyrrhic Victory?”
Discussants in the brain death panel included: Christopher Tollefsen (University of South Carolina); Fr. Thomas Berg (St. Joseph’s Seminary); Jason Eberl (Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine); Maureen Condic (University of Utah School of Medicine); Robert Buchanan, M.D. (University of Texas at Austin); Melissa Moschella (The Catholic University of America); Christian Brugger (St. John Vianney Theological Seminary); Josef Seifert (International Academy of Philosophy); and Thomas Cavanaugh (University of San Francisco).
At the evening banquet on Saturday Fr. Joseph Koterski, S.J. of Fordham University received the Rupert and Timothy Smith Award for Distinguished Contributions to Pro-Life Scholarship. Jeff Koloze also announded the winners of the 2016 Scholarly Achievement Award (see separate post for details).
As usual, Saturday evening featured the post-banquet gathering where members stood on a “chair” (actually a stage) and shared highlights of their past year. There were jokes as well, and other forms of conviviality.
The Presidents’ Reception
Dr. James P. Loftus, President of Cardinal Stritch University and Dr. Michael R. Lovell, President of Marquette University, meet with UFL members at a reception on Friday evening.
Speakers
Dr. Timothy Jessick describes and explains the reality of hospice care.
Jason Eberl takes a position in the brain death panel discussion.
Social
Lunch on Saturday allowed participants to discuss the various talks and panels.
Smith Award
President of UFL R. Mary Lemmons presents the Smith Award Fr. Koterski.