Mission of the Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics

The Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics exists to encourage informed discussion of the issues raised by our increasing powers over life.  Expanding human power over nature has transformed the circumstances of human life.  We have altered the environment, the prospects of future generations, and the ways in which we live and die.  Urgent issues arise regarding justice and rights, familial responsibility, corporate and state power, and what it means to live healthy and productive lives.  Questions of who should decide and what should be done confront us in unprecedented ways.  These questions have scientific, biological, legal, political, cultural, ethical, and religious dimensions.  Our power can be used for good or ill.

We want to do all we can to support systematic inquiry and analysis in the Yale curriculum and community, as well as in the broader communities of the state, nation, and world.  We work across all Yale University departments and professional schools, as well as political, economic, and religious institutions, to generate valid understandings, develop an informed citizenry, and enable thoughtful public and private debate and action.