Matthew Vandivier Sims Memorial Lecture

The Matthew Vandivier Sims Memorial Lectures were created to foster discussion in one of two areas: issues in responsible communication between patients, families, professional care givers, and counselors; or issues in biomedical ethics.

The series was established in honor of Matthew Vandivier Sims, who died in infancy. It is a collaboration between the Matthew Vandivier Sims Memorial Lecture Fund and the Poynter Center.

Margaret Mohrmann, from the University of Virginia, presented the 2009 Matthew Vandivier Sims Memorial Lecture on April 16, 2009 at 4 p.m. in Jordan Hall 124. Her topic was "Bioethics for Babies: Are There Guides for the Perplexed?" Professor Mohrmann’s presentation touched on both facets of the Lectures’ mission as she explores bioethics’ reliance on a “best interests” standard for decisions about the care of infants and its virtual silence in regard to how parents—the usual designated decision makers—go about their deliberations and how medical professionals accompany them in that process. The audiostream of the 2009 Lecture is available online at broadcast.iu.edu, using RealPlayer 8 Basic (a free program).	Damon Sims, Margaret Mohrmann, and Richard Miller

Professor Mohrmann holds a medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina and a doctorate in Religious Studies from the University of Virginia, where she now serves as the Emily Davie and Joseph S. Kornfeld Foundation Professor of Biomedical Ethics, Professor of Pediatrics and Medical Education, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, and Director, Program of Biomedical Ethics, Center for Biomedical Ethics and Humanities. She teaches a variety of courses, including biomedical ethics, the history of Christian ethics, and feminist thought. Publications include Attending Children: A Doctor's Education and Medicine As Ministry: Reflections on Suffering, Ethics, and Hope.

The audiostream of the 2009 Lecture is available online at broadcast.iu.edu, using RealPlayer 8 Basic (a free program).

Previous lecturers include William F. May, Thomas Murray, LeRoy Walters, James F. Childress, Rebecca Dresser, Ronald Green, and John Arras.