Who Owns Your Body? Science Cafe

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Dana Murchison - Staff Scientist | BodyZone Lab - 2012-06-06


The BODY WORLDS family of exhibitions exists thanks to individuals who chose to donate their bodies for plastination. Their donation may seem extraordinary, but we all make decisions that require us to weigh the fundamental ownership of our bodies against the good of society. Maybe you currently give blood or are registered as an organ donor. Do you think we should be added to an organ donor registry automatically, with the option to remove ourselves? Would you make your health records available for large-scale research, if it might lead to a medical breakthrough? Where should we set the boundary between individual privacy and autonomy, and the public good?

Discuss these questions and more with local experts at a Science Café event on Tuesday, June 12th at 7:30pm in the BODY WORLDS Vital exhibition. Panelists for this event will be Dr. David A. Maclean, Associate Professor in the Division of Medical Sciences at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine; Dr. Carol Collier, Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Sudbury; and Pam Andler, Organ and Tissue Donation Coordinator with Trillium Gift of Life Network at Health Sciences North.

This Science Café is free with evening admission to BODY WORLDS Vital. The exhibition opens exclusively for Science Café attendees at 6pm, with the Science Café starting at 7:30pm. Light snacks will be provided and a cash bar will be available.

For more information, contact Dana Murchison at murchison@sciencenorth.ca or 705-522-3701 x208. Want to join the conversation on Twitter? Tweet @danamurchison or use the hashtag #SNBodyWorlds.

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