George Annas, JD, MPH

George Annas, JD, MPH

William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor,
Boston University

George Annas, JD, is William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor at Boston University (BU), Director of the Center for Health Law, Ethics & Human Rights of the BU School of Public Health, and a professor in the BU 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.

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Prof. Annas recounts growing up in St. Cloud, Minnesota, discussing his Catholic upbringing and schooling before his eventual transfer from St. Thomas University to Harvard University and then Harvard Law School. Sharing his experiences in and following law school, Annas describes the process of appealing his two Vietnam War draft orders, becoming the first lawyer to receive an MPH at Harvard, and working as a Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation Fellow in Medical Ethics. He explores the legal and ethical complexities of end-of-life decisions—including living wills, physician-assisted suicide, organ transplants, and right-to-die laws. He discusses the origin and several editions of his book, The Rights of Patients, and recounts stories about writing regular features for prominent medical journals. Other topics discussed include Annas’ work with the Nuremberg Code files; his involvement with the Human Genome Project and genetic privacy issues; and his bioethics-themed comedy stand-up shows and Shelley’s Brain, a play based on the story of Barney Clark’s artificial heart. Throughout the interview, Annas reflects broadly on his focus in human-centric legal writing, and his collaborations with doctors and medical professionals. He ends by outlining the four characteristics of the health care system discussed in The Rights of Patients, explaining his self-identification as a health lawyer, and reflecting on the need for sustainability and environmental considerations in bioethics.

You can find full audio, transcript, and other materials in the Moral Histories Archive 

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