September 15, 2009 - California State University, Bakersfield's Kegley Institute of Ethics presents its fifth annual fall lecture featuring Arthur Caplan, the Emanuel and Robert Hart professor of bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, in a discussion about ethics and health care reform. The lecture will be held on Monday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. in CSUB's Doré Theatre.

Caplan's talk, titled "From Death Panels to Bureaucrats Killing Grandma: The Ethics of Health Care Reform in the United States" will focus on the health care debate that currently grips our nation. He will address key ethical questions raised by reform efforts: Is health care a right and why? How can costs be contained in an ethical manner if there is universal coverage? How should end-of-life care decisions be managed and by whom? What lessons do other nations have to teach us about access to care and cost-containment?

"After a very noisy, but not always enlightening summer of debate, we are in desperate need of rational and informed conversation on this topic," said Christopher Meyers, Kegley Institute director. "Dr. Caplan brings just that background and approach. Not everyone will agree with his conclusions, but he will force all of us to consider genuine facts, while also urging us to discard unsupported assumptions."

The lecture, co-sponsored by Kern Medical Center and San Joaquin Community Hospital, is free and open to the public. Parking is free after 6:00 p.m., with an overflow lot available next to the theatre.