BYU Law School Hosted University Faculty for Life Conference
The BYU Law School hosted the University Faculty for Life’s (UFL) 22nd annual conference, “Life and Learning,” on Friday and Saturday, June 1-2. The UFL is a non-denominational, multi-disciplinary organization of scholars interested in life-related studies.
The conference drew over 50 scholars who heard 31 academic presentations from over twenty colleges and universities in the United States and Canada as well as experts working in related institutes and foundations. The presenters included four full-time and two adjunct faculty from BYU.
The keynote address was delivered by Dr. William E. May, the emeritus Michael J. McGivney Professor of Moral Theology at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at The Catholic University of America. Dr. May’s presentation at BYU discussed “Current Controversies Over Defining Death and Transplanting Vital Organs From the Corpses of Human Persons.”
Dr. May is the Senior Research Fellow of the Culture of Life Foundation and recipient of the annual Smith Award for outstanding contributions to pro-life scholarship. He is the author of more than a dozen books and more than 240 scholarly articles. He is known as a leading scholar in the revival of natural law theory; for decades he has been a powerful pro-life academic voice.
Other presentations included “Moral Distress and Conscientious Objection,” by Professor Thomas Cavanaugh, Professor of Philosophy at the University of San Francisco; “The Case for After-Birth Abortion in the Journal of Medical Ethics: A Critique,” by Francis Beckwith, Professor of Philosophy and Church-State Studies, Baylor University; “Felt Moral Obligations and How We Feel About the Baby in the Womb,” (examining Levinas and Warner) by Carol F. Ellertson of the Romney Institute for Public Management at BYU; “Rene Girard and the History of Rights Language,” by Charles Brillinger, Associate Professorof Theology and Ethics, Brite Divinity School; “Artificial Wombs and Abortion Rights,” by Professor Stephen G. Gilles, Quinnipiac University School of Law; and “Eroding Conscience,” by Rev. John J. Conley, S.J. Loyola University, Maryland.
UFL President Professor Teresa Collett from the University of St Thomas Law School presided at the BYU conference, and Professor Lynn D. Wardle, the Bruce C.Hafen Professor of Law at BYU, was the host convener. Further information about the conference (including draft papers, program, bios, etc.) is available
here, and further information about UFL is at
http://www.uffl.org/.
Posted:June 07, 2012
