Burning Challenges

No one represents better the pursuit of the moral and ethical bedrock of humanity than did Elie Wiesel. This quintessential Forum on Ethics was founded in his memory in the historic city of Jerusalem.

Who will decide what is moral, and, in so doing, censure creative expression? Is artistic freedom not a liberty? How does the interpretation of morality vary around the world and through time?

As Director of the Institut du Monde Arab in Paris, I had the privilege of facilitating contact and dialog between Israelis and Palestinians. Humanity converges around projects of partnership and mutual concern such as peace, dialog and respect. The seminal ethic is that of mutual respect and dignity.

How do we protect the sphere of our private lives from being appropriated and manipulated by third parties? How do we keep communication truthful, authentic and responsible?

How do we reconcile public and private interests? Will our inability to make expensive treatments widely accessibly mean that we will need to differentiate between patients? Is healthcare a right to which we are all equally entitled?

Politicians, economists and the private sector must join forces and find the mechanisms necessary to make costly scientific progress available for everyone’s benefit.

Communication is ubiquitous and has a profound influence on our world view. It is critical that it adhere to strict measures of honesty and moral conduct in respect for its audience, in responsibility and in dignity.

Will we succeed in reaffirming the pact of privacy and discretion between doctor and patient in the face of an increasingly intrusive system in which our medical data could be used against us?

Is the surrogate mother voluntarily free to choose, or is she driven by financial necessity? Are there limits to the desire of bringing children to the world? Can we allow ourselves to use the surrogate mother to fulfill this desire? Does her body not translate to a simple commodity?

How do we keep the human body from becoming a commodity? How is this challenge perceived within different countries around the world?

Where do we draw the line between anti-eugenic considerations and mutations or birth defects, such as polysomy?

Deprived of foods rich in essential B vitamins and protein, some 45% of children in sub-Saharan Africa, India and South East Asia exhibit a 30% loss in the brain’s neuronal development and function. Can we continue to let this happen?

Whether for positive diagnosis of a disease or predictive medicine, our capacity to accurately interpret the results of genetic testing are of tremendous concern at the dawn of this new era in medicine.

How do we reverse a devastating cycle affecting women and children in the poorest parts of the world. From education, through to a viable economic mechanism that will catalyze and motivate a durable change in attitude in zones where the struggle for nurishment is a permanent one.

What interests are at play? What must we guarantee?

Currently, the prohibitive costs of genetic testing means that families in need are subject to unbearable waits. Political responsibility must be established in making these critical tools accessible.

When a woman loses her uterus, what are the ethical implications of “borrowing” or implanting a uterus?