Virgen Press Release

Regional Platform Established for Bioethics Discourse

Territories of the English-speaking Caribbean now have a platform from which to engage in meaningful dialogue on bioethical issues of particular importance and significance to the region, this with the formation of the Bioethics Society of the English-Speaking Caribbean (BSEC). The BSEC was launched during the 2 nd Research Ethics Conference at the University of the West Indies, Mona, recently.

The BSEC comprises individuals who have or intend to have significant involvement in the discussion, teaching, research, or clinical aspects of bioethics. Bioethics is a field, which aims, among other objectives, to provide ethics discourse and guidance in matters related to research, health care, and public policies relative to health, medicine, and biology.

Currently, the BSEC’s membership comprises some 40 founding members from 19 territories whose mission is to increase knowledge and understanding about bioethical issues through the promotion and fostering of deliberations across the region, thereby making significant contributions to the overall development and implementation of bioethics in human and animal healthcare, research and policy-making.

The BSEC’s Executive comprises:

Patron - UWI Chancellor and Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Emeritus – Professor Sir George Alleyene;
President - Consultant Bioethicist and Family Physician – Dr. Derrick Aarons of Jamaica;
Vice President – Prof. Cheryl Cox-McPherson – Chair, Bioethics Department, St. George’s University School of Medicine, Grenada;
Secretary – Professor Ralph Robinson, Professor of Parasitology, Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, UWI, Mona;
Treasurer – Dr. Donald Simeon, Consultant Statistician and Nutritionist and Head, Caribbean Health Research Council (CHRC),
Website Coordinator – Mr. Christopher Muir – PhD Candidate in Computer Information Technology.

Four of the BSEC’s five regions currently have one representative on the executive. They include:

Dr. Tony Frankson (recently based in Turks & Caicos, now in Jamaica) - North (Bermuda, Bahamas, Turks & Caicos and British & U.S. Virgin Islands);
Dr. Eileen Boxill, Q.C. (based in Jamaica) – West ( Belize, Cayman Islands & Jamaica;
Dr. Paul Ricketts (based in Dominica) – Southeast ( Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & Barbados) and
Mrs. Merle Mendonca (based in Guyana)- South ( Grenada, Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana).

A representative is to be appointed shortly for the fifth region – Northeast, comprising St. Kitts & Nevis, Montserrat, Anguilla and Antigua & Barbuda. The Society also has five Honorary Members (Bioethicists), and is affiliated with the Bioethics Units of PAHO and the University of Miami.

Dr. Aarons explained that the BSEC formation arose out of a series of fora held, dating back to 1993, when the concepts of bioethics were first introduced to the Caribbean. Consultations over ensuing years led to consensus among key stakeholders for the establishment of a forum for ethics discussions.

“With the launching of the Bioethics Society, we have therefore assumed the mantle of engaging in meaningful discussions about bioethical issues of particular importance to the Caribbean. Further, however, we will have to assume an advocacy role to achieve the particular objectives set out in the Society’s Constitution.”

Dr. Aarons said the BSEC Executive’s role was seen as three-fold: a) facilitating - the addition of new members, dialogue among members about bioethical issues, and updating and/or training members in areas pertinent to Bioethics, among other things; b) advocating the formulation of ethical policies in health, biology and research within Caribbean territories, and c) moulding a “think-tank” from among the membership that will help to guide the way forward and best serve the region and achieve the BSEC’s stated mission.

The Society hopes to get a National Bioethics Committee established in Jamaica and in other English-speaking countries, to provide expert advice on ethical matters related to health and health care, research, the life sciences, and public policy in health and health care”, Dr. Aarons said.