User:Nickaynilian/John J. Paris, S.J.

John J. Paris, S.J.
The Society of Jesus Logo
Occupation	Professor, Priest, Theologian, Philosopher
Education	Boston College, B.S., B.D. Harvard University, A.M. Weston College, Ph.L. University of Southern California, M.A., Ph.D.
Subject	Theology, Bioethics, Medicine, Ethics, Law
Website
www2.bc.edu/~parisj/

John J. Paris, S.J., ordained Father in the Society of Jesus, is a theologian and professor who, in particular, conducts research and study in the fields of medicine, ethics, and law. John Paris received a bachelor's degree and master's degree from Boston College, a master's degree from Harvard University, a law degree from Weston College, and a master's degree and doctorate degree at the University of Southern California. Currently a professor at Boston College, Father Paris teaches a course "Law, Medicine, and Ethics," and a course "Law, Medicine, and Public Policy."

In his carrer, John Paris currently serves as the Michael P. Walsh Professor of Bioethics at Boston College and the Clinical Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health at Tufts University. Before his current positions, he had served as a Professor of Religious Studies at Holy Cross College and Adjunct Professor of Medicine and the University of Massachusetts Medical School. In addition to his career as a professor, John Paris has sat on numerous consulting boards, medical committees, and theological boards, has been a member of many fellowships, and has acted as a referee to many journals. In his studies and writing, John Paris has focussed his interest in the field of bioethics, where he concentrates especially on medicine, ethics, and law. John Paris has written over 175 works and has given over 573 lectures on theses areas of bioethics.

Education

• Boston College, B.S. 1959 (History)

• Harvard University, A.M. (T) 1969 (Government/Education)

• Weston College, Ph. L. 1967 (Philosophy)

• Boston College, B.D. 1967 (Theology)

• University of Southern California, M.A., Ph.D., 1972 (Social Ethics)

Career

Present Positions

Michael P. Walsh Professor of Bioethics

Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467

Clinical Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health

Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02111

Former Positions

Professor of Religious Studies

College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA (1972-1990)

Adjunct Professor of Medicine

University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA (1982-1994)

Consulting

• President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research (1982-83)
• Advisory Panel on "Issues in Technology and Aging," U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment (1985-87)
• Consultant, U.S. Senate Committee on Aging (1986-88)
• LORAN Commission (1985-88)
• Harvard Community Health Plan (1988-90)

Medical Committees

• Institutional Review Committee, St. Vincent Hospital, Worcester, Massachusetts. (1979-82)
• Do Not Resuscitate Committee, St. Vincent Hospital. (1980-81)
• Do Not Resuscitate task Force, U Mass. Medical Center. (1980-81)
• Treatment Issues Task Force, U Mass. Medical Center. (1981-84)
• Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects, Harvard School of Public Health. (1981-84)
• New Issues Committee, Massachusetts Medical Society. (1984-85)
• Board of Directors, American Society of Law and Medicine. (1984-87)
• Ethics Committee, National Hospice Organization. (1987-90)
• Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Task Force on Critical Care. (1993-95)
• Ethics Committee, Society of Critical Care Medicine. (1995-99)

Board Memberships

• Editorial Review Board Member, Journal of Perinatology, 1995-Present.
• Editorial Review Board Member, Cambridge quarterly of Health Care Ethics, 2002-Present.
• Editorial Review Board Member, American Journal of Bioethics, 2004-Present.
• International Advisory Committee, Center for Ethics and Law, Copenhagen, Denmark
• Board of Directors of a Non-Profit, Fallon Community Health Plan, Worcester, MA, 2005-Present.
• Board of Advisors of a For-Profit, Advanced Cell Technology, Worcester, MA, 2006-Present

Reviewer and Referee

• New England Journal of Medicine
• Journal of American Medical Association
• Law, Medicine and Health Care
• Hastings Center Report
• Health Progress
• Journal of Perinatology
• Prentice Hall
• United States Senate Committee on Aging
• Journal of General Internal Medicine
• Pediatrics
• Business Ethics Quarterly

Fellowships

• Edwards Fellowship, Harvard University, 1959-1960.
• Oakly Fellowship, University of Southern California, 1969-72.
• Faculty Fellowship, Holy Cross College, Summer, 1973.
• National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Fellowship, 1975.
  "The Warren Court," University of California, Santa Barbara.
• General Electric Fellowship Corporate Responsibility Program, Summer, 1976.
  Catholic University.
• Fellowship in Law and Ethics, Harvard Law School, 1977-1978 (declined).
• Fellowship in Law, Yale Law School, 1977-78.
• Society for Values in Higher Education Fellowship, Summer, 1978 and Summer, 1979.
  Institute for Management and Public Policy, Yale University.
• Faculty Fellowship, Holy Cross College, Summer, 1981, 1982, and 1983.
  Visiting Research Scholar, Kennedy Institute for Ethics, Georgetown University.
• National Endowment for the Humanities, Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Hastings Center for Life Sciences, 1983-1984.

Participation in Court Hearings

John Paris has served as an expert witness and a consultant for over 80 biomedical court hearings throughout his career. Some of the more well known court cases include:

• Karen Ann Quinlan
• Brophy v. Mt. Sinai Hospital (Boston, Massachusetts)
• Jobes v. Parkland Nursing Home (Morristown, New Jersey)
• In re Baby K
• Gilgunn v. Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston, Massachusetts)

Major Works

Throughout his career, John Paris has written over 175 works, most of which being journal, newspaper, and magazine articles. The majority of his works are written about his interests in the connection of theology and bioethics. In particular, his works cover the bioethical areas of medicine, ethics, and law. Some of his main works are as follow:

• "Withholding Life Support Treatment from the Mentally Incompetent," Linacre Quarterly, Vol. 45, August 1978; 237-248

• "Death, Dying and the Courts: The Travesty and Tragedy of the Earle Spring Case," Linacre Quarterly, February, 1982; 26-41

• "Ethical and Legal Issues in Intensive Care Medicine," in Rippe (ed.) Intensive Care Medicine, Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1985; 1135-1145

• "Ethical Issues in Withholding or Withdrawal of Nutrition and Fluids," Clinical Nutrition: Journal of the European Society of Parental and Enteral Nutrition, 1993; 12:12-15

• "To Feed or Not to Feed: Terri Schiavo and the Use of Artificial Nutrition and Fluids," Southern Medical Journal 2005: 98(8); 757-75

• “Parental Refusal of Medical Treatment for a Newborn,” Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics, Springer Netherlands, November 2, 2007, 28(5): 427-441

Main Theological Interests

Medicine

John J. Paris, S.J. allocates a great majority of his studies, research, and writing to the medical field, with a particular concentration in resuscitation, critical care, and life support. He holds a strong conviction regarding certain medical practices as such. As an ordained Father and a practicing theologian, many of these beliefs are derived from Roman Catholic and Jesuit theological teachings.

John Paris is quoted in the article "Shades of Black and White" discussing the mentality of "if it can be done, it must be done." He reflects his Roman Catholic theological knowledge in his opinion by stating that humans have the need to prolong life if possible. However, John Paris states that the "if it can be done, it must be done" mentality is not always the correct one. He argues, "Along with the value placed on prolonging life, you have to take into account the level of the child’s suffering.” John Paris, therefore, supports the idea that extraordinary means should not be taken in order to preserve one's life, especially if the individual experiences large amounts of suffering. This idea is supported by the Roman Catholic tradition, thus further emphasizing how John Paris incorporates theology into the medical field. Although he believes in miracles, John Paris does not hide from anyone that he does not believe in life support, as depicted by his statement, "how odd of God to need a vent!"

Ethics

In addition to his works in medicine, John Paris has written many works and given numerous lectures in the field of ethics within bioethics. As an ordained Father and a theologian, many of John Paris' ethical writings derive from the Roman Catholic tradition teachings. These writings on ethics are mostly in relation to some form of medicine and/or law, including resuscitation, critical care, and life support.

In one of his works titled, "Large or Small, a Gift Is a Gift Is a Gift" in The American Journal of Bioethics, John Paris condemns the idea that physicians receive gifts from pharmaceutical companies. He states that by these companies giving physicians a gift, there is inherently a conflict of interests, and the doctor will, by human nature, feel a certain amount of being in debt to the paying company, therefore swaying his or her judgment(s) in their favor. He, furthermore, says that this conflict of interest arises regardless of the size of the gift. He references a previous article listed in The American Journal of Bioethics titled, "All Gifts Large and Small" which states that small gifts (defined as having a value less that $100) still influence the decisions of physicians. He recognizes that as a whole, doctors received a sum of $12 million last year in gifts and payments to physicians. In addition to the breach of ethical conduct and conflict of interests problems that arise, John Paris also feels that physicians already receive a large enough salary without the addition of gifts.

Law

Having received a law degree from Weston College in 1967 and participated as a visiting scholar at Yale University Law School, John Paris connects much of his work in the medical and ethical fields to the legal field. In particular, John Paris explores the legality of various topics in bioethics including, but not limited to, resuscitation, life support, and critical care. John Paris, as he does in his work with medicine and ethics, connects much of his legal studies and writings to the Catholic and Jesuit theological teachings. Although there are obviously discrepancies between state law and religious law, John Paris critically analyzes the law and states what the law should permit and prohibit according to both theological ethics and law.

In his work, "To Feed or Not to Feed: Terri Schiavo and the Use of Artificial Nutrition and Fluid," featured in the Southern Medical Journal, John Paris discusses the legality and ethical ramifications of the Terri Schiavo case, one of the more controversial legal cases of the modern era. Because critical care and life support are still fairly modern inventions, definitive laws about their use have yet to be completely established, thus causing the debate between the parties in the Terri Schiavo case. In his journal writing, John Paris discusses how the law should rule in this case, according to the laws established by the Bible and the Roman Catholic tradition. The Schiavo parents argue that removing Schiavo's feeding tubes would be euthanasia, strictly prohibited by the Catholic tradition. However, John Paris quotes the Vatican's 1980 Declaration on Euthanasia, which states, "One cannot impose on anyone the obligation to have recourse to a technique which is already in use but which carries a risk or is burdensome. Such a refusal is not the equivalent of suicide [or euthanasia]; on the contrary, it should be considered as an acceptance of the human condition." Paris, therefore, believes that although removing Schiavo's feeding tubes would be essentially killing her, it would be acceptable according to the Roman Catholic tradition. He finishes his journal article by stating, "the tradition makes it clear that if there is no further physical or spiritual benefit to be gained in sustaining life, then there is no moral obligation to do so."

External links

• John J. Paris' personal website
• John J. Paris' Curriculum Vitae
• John J. Paris' work "Large or Small, a Gift is a Gift" in The American Journal of Bioethics
• The Homepage for The American Journal of Bioethics
• The Official Website for the The Society of Jesus
• The Official Website of Boston College
• The Department of Theology at Boston College