PUC Guest Lecturer Debates Genetic Enhancement

Luke Molitor

Pacific Union College welcomes author Dr. Karen Lebacqz as she presents, "Genetic Enhancement: Christian Ethics in a Cyborg Age." Lebacqz will present her lecture as part of PUC's Longo Lecture Series on Thursday, February 26, at 7:30 p.m. in the PUC church. Admission is free.

Lebacqz is the Robert Gordon Sproul Professor of Theological Ethics at the Pacific School of Religion and Graduate Theological Union. She received her Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1974 and served on the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical & Behavioral Research. She has also served as the president of the Society of Christian Ethics and as a chair of the board of the Park Ridge Center for the Study of Health, Faith and Ethics.

Lebacqz has published nine books including The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate (2001), Ethics and Spiritual Care (2000), and Sexuality: A Reader (1999). During her career, Lebacqz has been the recipient of several awards and grants, including the GTU Newhall award for development of practicum in bioethics, the Lilly Endowment grant for work in professional ethics, and the National Endowment for the Humanities grant.

Lawrence D. Longo, M.D., established the Longo Lecture endowment in 1992 in honor of his parents, Frank and Florentine Longo. The lectureship includes topics related to religion, society and learning. The intended goal of the lecture series is to increase the knowledge of ideas and matters of the mind in the Christian experience.