The Institute for Science & Policy
Ethics in the Age of COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has raised a number of complicated ethical questions for society, including if and when it is acceptable to restrict individual liberties to protect the public by enforcing quarantines, face masks, or event cancellations. Hospitals have had to confront the possibility of severe shortages and the potential need for rationing. And all of us have had to think carefully about our own personal and professional responsibilities in how we respond. Tensions between individual risk and communal safety have created flashpoints in communities, exposing broader disagreements over core values and priorities. In light of this, how can policymakers, scientists, and citizens best navigate these murky moral waters? And what do we owe to ourselves and to each other as human beings in the face of this global crisis?
Join us as we discuss the ethics of COVID-19 with Matthew Wynia, MD, MPH, FACP, Professor of Medicine and Public Health and Director of the Center for Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Dr. Wynia is a specialist in infectious diseases with a longstanding interest in ethics during pandemics and other public health emergencies. He’ll explore some of the key dilemmas brought to light by the coronavirus thus far and outline a reasoned science- and values-based approach to these difficult questions. He’ll also answer your questions live during a moderated Q&A session.
This free public webinar is a collaboration of the Colorado School of Public Health, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, and the Institute for Science & Policy.
