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George Annas

William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor and Chair Chair, Department of Health Law, Bioethics & Human Rights School of Public Health at Boston University

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Biography

Boston University

George Annas is the William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Law, Bioethics & Human Rights of Boston University School of Public Health, and Professor in the Boston University School of Medicine, and School of Law. He is the cofounder of Global Lawyers and Physicians, a transnational professional association of lawyers and physicians working together to promote human rights and health. He has degrees from Harvard College (A.B. economics, ’67), Harvard Law School (J.D. ’70) and Harvard School of Public Health (M.P.H. ’72), where he was a Joseph P. Kennedy Fellow in Medical Ethics.

After graduating from law school, Annas clerked for Justice John V. Spalding of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and came to Boston University in 1972 as the Director of the Center for Law and Health Sciences at the law school. Professor Annas is the author or editor of sixteen books on health law and bioethics, including American Bioethics: Crossing Human Rights and Health Law Boundaries (2005), The Rights of Patients(3d ed. 2004), Some Choice: Law, Medicine, and the Market (1999), Standard of Care: The Law of American Bioethics(1993), and Judging Medicine (1987), and a play, entitled “Shelley’s Brain,” that has been presented to bioethics audiences across the U.S. and in Australia.

Professor Annas has been called “the father of patient rights,” “the doyen of American medico-legal analysts,” and a “national treasure.” Professor Annas wrote a regular feature on “law and bioethics” for the Hastings Center Report from 1976 to 1991, and a regular feature on “Public Health and the Law” in the American Journal of Public Health from 1982 to 1992 and since 1991 has written a regular feature on “Legal Issues in Medicine” for the New England Journal of Medicine, now under the title “Health Law, Ethics, and Human Rights.” He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a member of the Institute of Medicine, co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Committee on Health Rights and Bioethics (Individual Rights and Responsibilities Section) and a member of the Committee on Human Rights of the National Academies. He has also held a variety of government regulatory posts, including Vice Chair of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine, Chair of the Massachusetts Health Facilities Appeals Board, and Chair of the Massachusetts Organ Transplant Task Force.

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Cases

Use of placebos on children in study draws researcher’s ire

February 12, 2018

Boston Globe George Annas Doctors at Boston Children’s Hospital and in four other US cities are facing criticism over the ethics of a study exploring whether vitamin D prevents dangerous asthma attacks in children, because only half of the 400 participants are receiving the potential treatment… Expert quote: “The most important issue is informed consent. […]

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Trump in ‘excellent health,’ White House doctor says after exam

January 12, 2018

Reuters George Annas The White House physician pronounced Donald Trump to be in “excellent health” after Trump had his first medical exam as U.S. president on Friday, capping off a week in which his mental fitness for the job has come under intense scrutiny… Expert quote: “I don’t think you could expect to see anything […]

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Some scientists have been their own guinea pigs in the lab

August 5, 2017

Chicago Daily Herald quoting George Annas, School of Public Health “Werner Forssmann had a plan — a plan he knew his superiors would never approve…” Expert quote: “You can prove that (a treatment is) not too dangerous to use on humans by using it on yourself.” View full article. 

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First Human Embryos ‘Edited’ in U.S.—Get the Facts

August 2, 2017

National Geographic quoting George Annas, School of Public Health “The work, which removed a gene mutation linked to a heart condition, is fueling debate over the controversial tool known as CRISPR…” Expert quote: “The scientists are out of control.” View full article. 

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Some scientists have been their own guinea pigs in the lab

June 24, 2017

Washington Post quoting George Annas, School of Law/ School of Public Health “Werner Forssmann had a plan — a plan he knew his superiors would never approve…” Expert quote: “You can prove that [a treatment is] not too dangerous to use on humans by using it on yourself.” View full article. 

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Science and Science Fiction Highlight Double-Edged Sword of Technology

May 3, 2017

WCAI George Annas, School of Law/ School of Public Health “Science fiction has always been a way to explore what our future might look like…” Expert quote: “It was just kind of startling thing,” said Annas. “But you could think about this as being beautiful in its own way. You have a living creature there […]

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Ethical Guidelines on Lab-Grown Embryos Beg for Revamping, Scientists Say

March 28, 2017

Scientific American George Annas, School of Public Health “For nearly 40 years scientists have observed their self-imposed ban on doing research on human embryos in the lab beyond the first two weeks after fertilization…” Expert quote: “I think it’s a fair question.” View full article. 

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Ethical Guidelines on Lab-Grown Embryos Beg for Revamping, Scientists Say

March 22, 2017

Scientific America George Annas, School of Public Health For nearly 40 years scientists have observed their self-imposed ban on doing research on human embryos in the lab beyond the first two weeks after fertilization… Expert quote: “George Annas, director of Boston University School of Public Health’s Center for Health Law, Ethics and Human Rights, says […]

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Gene-Editing Gets A Go-Ahead

February 28, 2017

WBUR George Annas, School of Law “Growing support for human gene-editing…” View full article.     

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No red line against CRISPR’ing early embryos, experts rule

February 15, 2017

STAT News George Annas, School of Public Health For more than a year, 22 of the world’s leading geneticists, bioethicists, physicians, and legal scholars have been wrestling with thorny questions posed by the revolutionary advances in scientists’ ability to edit the human genome… Expert quote: “Bioethicist George Annas of Boston University, who reviewed the report […]

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