Edmund Daniel Pellegrino (June 22, 1920 - June 13, 2013) was an American bioethicist and academic who served as the 11th president of The Catholic University of America (CUA) from 1978 to 1982. For 35 years, Pellegrino was a distinguished professor of medicine and medical ethics and the Director of the

Kennedy Institute of Ethics The Kennedy Institute of Ethics (also known as Joseph and Rose Kennedy Institute of Ethics) is one of the most prestigious bioethics institutes in the world. Located at Healy Hall, it was established at Georgetown University in 1971 as a bioethi ...

at Georgetown University. Pellegrino was an expert both in clinical bioethics, and in the field of medicine and the humanities, specifically, the teaching of humanities in medical school, which he helped pioneer). He was the second layman to hold the position of President of Catholic University. He was the Chairman of the President's Council on Bioethics, under the 43rd U.S. President,

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

, and was the founder of the Edmund D. Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics (renamed in his honor in 2013) at Georgetown University.

Biography

Pellegrino was born in Newark, New Jersey and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He and his wife, Clementine Coakley Pellegrino, were married for 68 years, until her death in May, 2012. He was the father of seven children: Thomas (d. 2011); Stephen (d. 1981); Virginia; Michael; Andrea; Alice; and Leah. Pellegrino had two grandchildren, Daniel Pellegrino and Alice Cowan and two great grandsons, Andrew Cowan and Stephen Pellegrino. A graduate of

St. John's University St John's University may refer to: *St. John's University (New York City) **St. John's University School of Law **St. John's University (Italy) - Overseas Campus *College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, St. Joseph, Minnesota and Col ...

and New York University, Dr. Pellegrino was the author of more than 575 published articles and chapters in medical science, philosophy and ethics. He served residencies in medicine at Bellevue Hospital, Goldwater Memorial Hospital, and Homer Folks Tuberculosis Hospital, following which he was a research fellow in renal physiology ( kidney physiology) and renal medicine (

nephrology Nephrology (from Greek'' nephros'' "kidney", combined with the suffix ''-logy'', "the study of") is a specialty of adult internal medicine and pediatric medicine that concerns the study of the kidneys, specifically normal kidney function (ren ...

) at New York University Medical Center. He served as a

department chair Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

and dean, as well as President of the Catholic University of America. Dr. Pellegrino was a Master of the American College of Physicians, a Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

, a Hastings Center Fellow, and the recipient of more than 50 honorary degrees. The author of 11 books, Dr. Pellegrino's research interests included the history of medicine, the

philosophy of medicine The philosophy of medicine is a branch of philosophy that explores issues in theory, research, and practice within the field of health sciences. More specifically in topics of epistemology, metaphysics, and medical ethics, which overlaps with bioet ...

, professional ethics, the patient-physician relationship and

biomedical ethics Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, me ...

in a culturally pluralistic society. Dr. Pellegrino was a

Senior Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of The Center for Bioethics And Human Dignity. Beginning in 1978, Pellegrino was appointed a professor of clinical medicine and community medicine at Georgetown University. In 1982, he was made the John Carroll Professor Medicine and Medical Ethics and became the Director of the

in 1983. Pellegrino remained on the faculty at Georgetown until 2013 and, upon his retirement, the Edmund D. Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics was renamed in his honor. In 1998, he was awarded the

Laetare Medal The Laetare Medal is an annual award given by the University of Notre Dame in recognition of outstanding service to the Catholic Church and society. The award is given to an American Catholic or group of Catholics "whose genius has ennobled the a ...

by the University of Notre Dame, the oldest and most prestigious award for American Catholics. Dr. Pellegrino had appeared on of "Da Ali G Show" on HBO, when Ali G conducts a panel on medical ethics with several renowned experts, including Dr. Pellegrino, pressing his guests on issues of cloning (why not clone Carmen Electra?),

euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...

(vs. "youth in Asia") and plastic surgery. Dr. Pellegrino's comment, "It's a matter of taste," has become one of the most paraphrased lines from the episode.

Biography

References

Further reading