Health forum to explore moral, ethical questions
Published 12:01 am Tuesday, July 10, 2012
PORT ANGELES — Moral and ethical questions in the face of mounting medical costs will be addressed at League of Women Voters of Clallam County-sponsored forum at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
The forum — which will be in the Little Theater on the Peninsula College Port Angeles campus, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd. — is the second of four League health care forums planned this year.
Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles co-sponsors the forums.
The need to cut health care costs is leading to questions of access and responsibility, said Bertha Cooper, forum organizer for the league.
Cooper said the second forum will focus on moral and ethical questions surrounding the health care debate and present varying points of view on such questions as whether health care is a right or a privilege, and if people should be denied treatment if they cannot pay or lack insurance.
The first forum in May — which focused on the effects of the health care system on services and outcomes, drew an audience of more than 100 at the college’s Little Theater.
Speakers for the second forum are:
— Sarah Shannon, a registered nurse who is an associate professor and vice associate dean/academic programs, biobehavioral nursing and health systems at the University of Washington, will describe the importance of having ethical and moral discussions.
— Rebecca Corley, a medical doctor in pulmonary and critical-care medicine at Olympic Medical Physicians, will discuss ethical and moral issues from the point of view of a practicing physician.
— Phyllis Darling, who holds a bachelor’s in social science and a master’s in European history, will discuss individual responsibility and freedom.
— Mary Wegmann, a clinical psychologist, will talk about societal responsibility and the common good.
Following the presentations, Shannon will facilitate a panel discussion in which panelists can respond to audience questions.
The remaining two forums will be held in August and September, with dates to be announced.
They will address the health care market and its importance to the economy and the health of the nation.
A discussion of options for broad reform will be addressed at the final forum, Cooper said.
