Islamic Bioethics
Victoria Erhart
This talk is based on a course on Islamic Bioethics from the Hamad bin Khalifa Medical College in Qatar. The talk will cover a discussion on Islamic bioethics, with specific reference to how religious authorities and medical authorities in the Middle East Islamic world construct policies regarding the beginning of human life (a two-stage process) and how to determine the end of human life. Time permitting, we can also discuss the Islamic thinking on euthanasia, assisted reproductive technologies and abortion = only medically necessary abortion permitted. It is interesting that there is an Islamic bioethics counsel for Muslims who live outside the Islamic Middle East = Western Europe, England, North America. The way Muslims medical and religious authorities determine policies is quite different from the secular West.
Victoria Erhart completed her undergraduate studies at St. John’s College in Santa Fe, NM, the “great Books” school. She began graduate school in Hebrew and Jewish Studies at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, before moving to Toronto to continue theological studies at St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto. She completed theological studies with a concentration in Early Christian Studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Victoria Erhart has taught World Religions at a variety of colleges and universities. She currently teaches business technology courses at UNM-LA. Her research interests includes Syriac Christianity, pre-modern military history, sustainable and environmental issues and the intersection between science and religion.
