The Relationship Between Ethics and Public Health

           We sat down with Michael Arenson, a student in the master’s of
Bioethics program housed at Emory’s Center for Ethics, to talk about how
ethics plays into public health. Arenson’s goal is to help facilitate
more collaborations and conversations that include both ethics and
public health. He says that,“ethics is often viewed as something to be
complied with before public health can do its work, but both ethics and
public health are at their best when ethics becomes more a part of the
process instead of the oversight of public health.” In considering a
dual major in Bioethics and Public Health, Arenson sat down with Kathy
Kinlaw of the Center for Ethics to talk about possibilities. During this
conversation, the Public Health Ethics Organization was conceived. With
co-founder Andrea Fletcher, a Masters of Public Health student at
Emory, the organization is gaining momentum. They took off by organizing
a packed panel discussion on the Troy Davis verdict. The intention of
the organization, Arenson notes, is to be a “nexus for
multi-disciplinary collaboration.” Pairing ethics with public health, to
Arenson, “makes sense because, in the words of Paul Root Wolpe, all
ethics really is, is a conversation,” and this conversation must be a
part of every aspect of public health.

Look out for the Public Health Ethics Organization on facebook
or email at phethics@emory.edu!