Albert R. Jonsen
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Albert R. Jonsen (April 1931 – October 21, 2020) was one of the founders of the field of Bioethics. He was Emeritus Professor of
Ethics in Medicine Medical ethics is an applied branch of ethics which analyzes the practice of clinical medicine and related scientific research. Medical ethics is based on a set of values that professionals can refer to in the case of any confusion or conflict. T ...
at the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
, School of Medicine, where he was Chairman of the Department of
Medical History The medical history, case history, or anamnesis (from Greek: ἀνά, ''aná'', "open", and μνήσις, ''mnesis'', "memory") of a patient is information gained by a physician by asking specific questions, either to the patient or to other peo ...
and Ethics from 1987 to 1999. After retiring from UW, he returned to San Francisco, where he co-founded (with William Andereck) the Program in Medicine and Human Values at Sutter Health's California Pacific Medical Center in 2003.


Early life and education

Jonsen was born in April 1931 in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
. He had two brothers, Robert and Richard, and a sister, Anne Marie. In 1949 he joined the
Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
(Jesuits) and was ordained a
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
priest in 1962; he resigned from the active priesthood in 1976. He received a doctorate in religious studies from
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
in 1967.


Career

In 1969, he was chosen as president of the
University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...
where he served until 1972. The medical school of the
University of California, San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It cond ...
invited him to join the faculty and create a program in medical ethics. Jonsen was one of the first bioethicists to be appointed to a medical faculty. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute selected him as a member of the first NIH committee to deal with ethical, social and legal issues of a developing medical technology, the totally implantable artificial heart (1972–73). Jonsen was a member of the
National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research was the first public national body to shape bioethics policy in the United States. Formed in the aftermath of the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis ...
(1974–78), charged with formulating regulations governing the use of humans in research. He participated in development of regulations regarding use of the human fetus, children and mentally incapacitated persons as research subjects; he also assisted in the writing of the
Belmont Report The ''Belmont Report'' is a report created by the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. Its full title is the ''Belmont Report: Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human ...
(1978), the statement of ethical principles, a leading statement on research ethics. In 1979, Jonsen was appointed to the successor body, the President's Commission on the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine (1979–82) which devised reports on
brain death Brain death is the permanent, irreversible, and complete loss of brain function which may include cessation of involuntary activity necessary to sustain life. It differs from persistent vegetative state, in which the person is alive and some aut ...
, foregoing
life-support Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform basic ...
,
informed consent Informed consent is a principle in medical ethics and medical law, that a patient must have sufficient information and understanding before making decisions about their medical care. Pertinent information may include risks and benefits of treatme ...
and other topics which have become the main subjects of
bioethics 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, med ...
. Jonsen was a pioneer in the practice of "
clinical ethics Medical ethics is an applied branch of ethics which analyzes the practice of clinical medicine and related scientific research. Medical ethics is based on a set of values that professionals can refer to in the case of any confusion or conflict. T ...
", in which an ethicist serves as a consultant to those making ethical decisions about appropriate care of patients. In 1983, Jonsen authored with Mark Siegler and William Winslade 'Clinical Ethics: A Practical Approach to Ethical Decisions in Clinical Medicine', a seminal book that provides a unique structured approach to solving ethical issues that arise in daily clinical practice. Jonsen joined John Fletcher as founders of the Society for Clinical Ethics (SBC), which later merged with the Society for Health and Human Values (SHHV) and the American Association of Bioethics (AAB) to form the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH) in 1998. In 1987, Jonsen assumed the chairmanship of the Department of Medical History and Ethics, School of Medicine, University of Washington. He remained there until his retirement in 1999.


Later life

After his retirement from UW, Jonsen returned to his native San Francisco, where he joined his good friend and colleague, William Andereck in co-founding The Program in Medicine and Human Values at Sutter Health's California Pacific Medical Center in 2003. At Sutter Health's Bioethics Program, he continued his scholarly work and conducted multiple research studies and authored several books and papers. He also mentored Bioethicists and Clinical Ethics Fellows during this time. At the time of his death, Jonsen had completed work on the 9th edition of his book, Clinical Ethics, with co-authors Mark Siegler, William Winslade, and Associate Editor, Ruchika Mishra.


Personal life and death

In 1976, Jonsen resigned from the active priesthood to marry. Jonsen died on October 21, 2020, at the age of 89, survived by his wife Liz of 44 years.


Service

Jonsen was a fellow of the
Hastings Center The Hastings Center is an independent, nonpartisan bioethics research institute and think tank based in Garrison, New York. It was instrumental in establishing the field of bioethics and is among the most prestigious bioethics and health policy i ...
, an independent bioethics research institution. He served on the National Board of Medical Examiners, the American Board of Medical Specialties, the ethics committee of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and as consultant to the American Board of Internal Medicine. He was president of the Society for Health and Human Values and chair of the committee to Monitor the Social Impact of
AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
of the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
. In 1981, he was elected to the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences. In 2017, The Hastings Center granted Jonsen the most prestigious honor in the field of bioethics, the Henry Knowles Beecher Award for Contributions to Ethics and the Life Sciences.


Bibliography

*''The Ethics of Neonatal Intensive Care'' (1976) *''Clinical Ethics'' (1982) (with Mark Siegler and
William Winslade William J. Winslade, Ph.D., J.D. (born 18 November 1941) is the ''James Wade Rockwell Professor of Philosophy of Medicine'' at the Institute for Medical Humanities, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and ''Distinguished Visiting Pro ...
) *''The Abuse of Casuistry: A History of Moral Reasoning'' (1988) (with
Stephen Toulmin Stephen Edelston Toulmin (; 25 March 1922 – 4 December 2009) was a British philosopher, author, and educator. Influenced by Ludwig Wittgenstein, Toulmin devoted his works to the analysis of moral reasoning. Throughout his writings, he sought t ...
) *''The Birth of Bioethics'' (1998) *''A Short History of Medical Ethics'' (2000) *''Bioethics Beyond the Headlines: Who Lives? Who Dies? Who Decides?'' (2005)


References


External links



Sutter Health's Program in Medicine and Human Values.
University of Washington Bio entry

Albert Rupert Jonsen Papers (MS 1757).
Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jonsen, Albert R. 1931 births 2020 deaths Former Jesuits Hastings Center Fellows Presidents of the University of San Francisco University of California, San Francisco faculty University of Washington faculty Yale University alumni 20th-century American Jesuits Members of the National Academy of Medicine