• Professor of Law, School of Law

Dresser

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• B.A. in Psychology and Sociology at Indiana University
• M.S. at Indiana University
• J.D. at Harvard Law School

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The Bush Legacy Examining the Bush legacy, which won't be an easy one for future historians to assess. While most unsuccessful presidencies involved presidents who were considered captives of events, unable to muster effective responses, Bush's was one of bold strokes that, for better or worse, will be debated for a long time. WUSTL law professor Rebecca Dresser, who serves on the President's Council on Bioethics, comments on the stem cell research decision. References: Jan. 12, 2009 — The Bush Legacy in the The Boston Globe

Brain scans may determine success, but ethical questions still abound Is it ethical to use neuroscientific technology to assess predispositions? WUSTL's Rebecca Dresser comments. Neuroscientific technology that could examine the brain to discover a person's predisposition to commit a crime or succeed in college may revolutionize notions of justice and accomplishment, said experts at a recent neuroethics conference. WUSTL law and ethics professor Rebecca Dresser was one of the participants. She explored the possibility for neuroscientific developments to allow enough knowledge of the brain and its pathologies to undermine conventional folk psychology, or generally accepted concepts of responsibility. References: May 31, 2005 — Brain scans may determine success, but ethical questions still abound in the Science & Theology News online (MA)

Letters to the Editor Rebecca Dresser, professor of ethics in medicine in the School of Law writes that ethical issues should be part of the debate over federal financing for stem cell research. References: Aug. 19, 2004 — Letters to the Editor in the New York Times

Letters to the Editor Dresser Download Rebecca Dresser, professor of law and ethics, argues that the U.S. should see a growing scientific community as a positive gain rather than unwelcome competition. References: May 5, 2004 — Letters to the Editor in the The New York Times

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Books

*Bioethics and Law: Cases, Materials, and Problems, Second Edition, St. Paul, West Publishing Company, 2003. Co-authured with Michael H. Shapiro, Roy G. Spece & Ellen Wright Clayton.

* When Science Offers Salvation: Patient Advocacy and Research Ethics, New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.

* The Human Use of Animals: Case Studies in Ethical Choice, New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. Co-authored with F. Barbara Orlans, Ph.D., Tom L. Beauchamp, Ph.D., David B. Morton, D.V.M. & John P. Gluck, Ph.D. Reviewed in Science 283:181, 1999 and Journal of the American Medical Association 281:385, 1999.

Law Review Articles

* "Precommitment: A Misguided Strategy for securing Death with Dignity," Symposium on Precommitment Theory, Bioethics, and Constitutional Law, Texas Law Review, 81:1823-1847, 2003.

* "Patient Advocates in Research: New Possibilities, New Problems," Daniel Noyes Kirby Chair Installation Address, Washington University Journal of Law and Policy, 11:237-248, 2003.

* "The Ethics of Intervention: Human Research and Blurred Spieces Boundaries," Symposium on Genes and the Just Society, San Diego Law Review, 39:739-748, 2002.

* "Dementia Research: Ethics and Policy for the 21st Century," Symposium on Legal and Ethical Issues in the Progression of Dementia, Georgia Law Review, 35:661-690, 2001.

* "Breast Implants Revisited: A Response to Science on Trial," Wisconsin Law Review, 1997:706-776. Co-authored with Wendy Wagner and Paul Giannelli.

* "Missing Persons: Legal Perceptions of Incompetent Patients," Rutgers Law Review, 46:609-719, 1994.

* "Culpability and Other Minds," Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal, 2:41-88, 1992.

* "Personal Identity and Punishment," Boston University Law Review, 70:395-446, 1990.

* "Relitigating Life and Death," Ohio State Law Journal, 51:426-437, 1990.

* "Ethical and Legal Issues in Patenting New Animal Life," Jurimetrics Journal, 28:399-435, 1988.

* "Assessing Harm and Justification in Animal Research: Federal Policy Opens the Laboratory Door," Rutgers Law Review, 40:723-795, 1988.

* "Life, Death, and Incompetent Patients: Conceptual Infirmities and Hidden Values in the Law," Arizona Law Review, 28:373-405, 1986.

* "Research on Animals: Values, Politics, and Regulatory Reform," Southern California Law Review, 58:1147-1201, 1985.

* "Feeding the Hunger Artists: Legal Issues in Treating Anorexia Nervosa," Wisconsin Law Review, 1984:297-374.

* "Ulysses and the Psychiatrists: A Legal and Policy Analysis of the Voluntary Commitment Contract," Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, 16:777-854, 1982.

* Review Essay, "Metaphysics and Morals: Moore's Medicine for a Misunderstood Marriage," American Bar Foundation Research Journal, 1985:917-26 (reviewing Moore, Law and Psychiatry: Rethinking the Relationship).

* Review Essay, "Respecting and Protecting Nonhuman Animals: Regan's The Case for Animal Rights," American Bar Foundation Research Journal, 1984:831-50.

Articles and Book Chapters

* "Human Cloning and the FDA," Hasting Center Report, 33:7-8, May-June 2003.

* "Protecting Posthumous Children," Hastings Center Report, 32:8-9, November-December, 2002.

*Ethical and Policy Issues in Research on Elder Abuse and Neglect," in Panel to Review Risk and Prevalence of Elder Abuse and Neglect, National Research Council, Elder Mistreatment:Abuse, Neglect and Exploitationin an Aging America 303-338, R. Bonnie & R. Wallace, eds, Washington, DC: Naitonal Academy Press, 2003.

* "The Conscious Incompetent Patient," Hastings Center Report 32:9-10, May-June, 2002.

* "The Ubiquityand Untility of the Therapeutic Misconception," Social Philosophy & Policy 19:271-294, 2002.

* "Procreation and Punishment," Hastings Center Report 31:8-9, November-December, 2001.

* "Defining Research Misconduct: Will We Know It When We See It?" Hastings Center Report 31:31-32, May-June, 2001.

* "Research Subjects with Mental Disabilities: The More Things Change ...," in Mental Health Law in Evolution: A 25-Year Retrospective 1972-1997 57-74, L. Frost & R. Bonnie, eds., Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2001.

* "Advance Directives as Acts of Communication: A Randomized Controlled Trial," Archives of Internal Medicine, 161:421-430, 2001. Co-authored with colleagues in grant project, "Testing the Effectiveness of Advance Directives."

* "Advance Directives in Dementia Research: Promoting Autonomy and Protecting Subjects," IRB: Ethics & Human Research, 23:1-6, January-February, 2001.

* "Regulating Assisted Reproduction," Hastings Center Report 30:26-27, November-December, 2000.

* "The Supreme Court and End-of-Life Care: Principled Distinctions or Slippery Slope?" in Law at the End of Life: The Supreme Court and Assisted Suicide 83-100, C. Schneider, ed., Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2000.

* "Government Priorities for Biomedical Research: What Does Justice Require?" in Current Legal Issues: Law and Medicine, 3:399-419, M. Freeman & A. Lewis, eds., Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

* "Accountability in Science and Government: Is Access the Answer?" Hastings Center Report 30:29-30, May-June, 2000.

* "Planning for Future Research Participation: Ethical and Practical Considerations," Accountability in Research 7:129-36, 1999.

* "Dementia and Advance Care Planning: Perspectives from Three Countries," Journal of Clinical Ethics 10:271-85, 1999 (with several co-authors).

* "Should Consent Be Required for an HIV Test?" in Ethical Dilemmas in Neurology 13-21, A. Zemon & L. Emanuel, eds., London: W.B. Saunders, 2000.

* "Surfing for Studies: Clinical Trials on the Internet," Hastings Center Report 29: 26-27, November-December, 1999.

* "Funds for Research on Conditions Primarily Affecting Women: What Is a 'Fair Share'?" Journal of Gender-Specific Medicine, 2:23-26, September-October, 1999.

* "Public Advocacy and Allocation of Federal Funds for Biomedical Research," Milbank Quarterly 77: 257-274, 1999.

* "Criminal Responsibility and the 'Genetics Defense,'" in Genetics and Criminality: Perspectives from Science, Philosophy and Law 163-73, J. Botkin, W. McMahon & L Francis, eds., Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 1999.

* "Science in the Courtroom: A New Approach," Hastings Center Report, 29:26-27, May-June, 1999.

* "Community Representatives and Nonscientists on the IACUC: What Difference Should It Make?" ILAR Journal, 40:29-33, 1999.

* "Time for New Rules on Human Subjects Research?" Hastings Center Report, 28:23-24, November-December, 1998.

* "Setting Priorities for Science Support," Hastings Center Report, 28:24-26, May-June, 1998.

* "The Rule of Double Effect: A Critique of Its Role in End-of-Life Decision Making," New England Journal of Medicine, 337:1768-1771, 1997. Co-authored with Timothy Quill, M.D. and Dan Brock, Ph.D.

* "Scientists in the Sunshine," Hastings Center Report, 27:26-18, November-December, 1997.

* "Giving Scientists Their Due: The Imanishi-Kari Decision," Hastings Center Report, 27:26-28, May-June, 1997.

* "Long-Term Contraceptives in the Criminal Justice System," in Coerced Contraception? Moral and Policy Challenges of Long-Acting Birth Control 134-150, E. H. Moscowitz & B. Jennings, eds., Washington: Georgetown University Press, 1996.

* "Still Troubled: In re Martin," Hastings Center Report, 26:21-22, July-August, 1996.

* "Mentally Disabled Research Subjects: The Enduring Policy Issues," Journal of the American Medical Association, 276:67-72, 1996.

* "What Bioethics Can Learn from the Women's Health Movement," in Feminism and Bioethics 144-159, S. Wolf, ed., New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.

* "And Baby Makes Three... or Four... or Five: Assisted Reproduction," Trial, 32:28-33, December, 1995.

* "Dworkin on Dementia: Elegant Theory, Questionable Policy," Hastings Center Report, 25:32-38, November-December, 1995. Reprinted in Bioethics: An Anthology 312-320, P. Singer & H. Kuhse, eds., Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers, 1999 and in Meaning and Medicine: A Reader in the Philosophy of Health Care, J. Lindemann Nelson and H. Lindemann Nelson, eds., New York: Routledge, 1999.

* "Long-Term Contraceptives in the Criminal Justice System," Special Supplement, Hastings Center Report, 25:S15-S18, January-February, 1995. Reprinted in Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Bioethical Issues, C. Levine, ed., Guilford, Connecticut: Dushkin Publishing Group, 1997.

* "Advance Directives: Implications for Policy," Special Supplement, Hastings Center Report, 24:S2-S5, November-December, 1994.

* "Product Liability Considerations," in National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Report of the Workshop on the Artificial Heart: Planning for Evolving Technologies 97-101, 1994.

* "Freedom of Conscience, Professional Responsibility, and Access to Abortion," Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 22:280-285, Fall, 1994. Reprinted in Bioethics, Justice, and Health Care 464-472, W. Teays & L. Purdy, eds., Belmont, California: Wadsworth/Thompson Learning, 2000.

* "The Incompetent Patient on the Slippery Slope," Hastings Center Report, 24:6-12, July-August, 1994. Co-authored with Peter J. Whitehouse, M.D., Ph.D. Reprinted in Social Issues Resources Series and in Medical Ethics, M. Weinberg, ed., Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books, 2000.

* "The Public Context of Private Medical Decisions," Hastings Center Report, 24:21-22, May-June, 1994.

* "Sanctions for Research Misconduct: A Legal Perspective," Academic Medicine, 68:539-543, September, 1993.

* "Defining Scientific Misconduct: The Relevance of Mental State," Journal of the American Medical Association, 269:895-97, 1993.

* "Values and Perspectives on Abuse: Unspoken Influences on Ethical Reasoning," in Ethical Conflicts in the Management of Home Care 121-127, R. Kane & A. Caplan, eds., New York: Springer, 1993.

* "Standards for Animal Research: Justification and Assessment for Alternatives," Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 200:667-69, 1992.

* "Wanted: Single, White Male for Medical Research," Hastings Center Report, 22:24-29, January-February, 1992. Reprinted in The Ethical Dimensions of the Biological Sciences, R. Bulger, E. Heitmen & S. Reiser, eds., New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993 and in Ethical Issues in Modern Medicine, J. Arras & B. Steinbock, eds., Mountain View, California: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1995.

* "Autonomy Revisited: The Limits of Anticipatory Choices," in Dementia and Aging: Ethics, Values and Policy Choices 71-85, R. Binstock, S. Post & P. Whitehouse, eds., Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992.

* "Making Up Our Minds: Can Law Survive Cognitive Science?," Criminal Justice Ethics, 10:27-40, Winter/Spring, 1991.

* "Institutional Animal Committees: Theory and Practice," in The Experimental Animal in Biomedical Research 49-63, B. Rollin, ed., Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press, 1990.

* "Review Standards for Animal Research: A Closer Look," Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources News (National Research Council), 32:2-7, 1990.

* "Measuring Merit in Animal Research," Theoretical Medicine, 10:21-34, 1989.

* "Quality of Life and Treatment Decisions for Incompetent Patients," Law, Medicine & Health Care, 17:234-44, 1989. Co-authored with John A. Robertson. Reprinted in Ethical Issues in Modern Medicine, J. Arras & B. Steinbock, eds., Mountain View, California: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1995 and in Intervention and Reflection: Basic Issues in Medical Ethics, R. Munson, ed., Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1999.

* "Developing Standards in Animal Research Review," Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 194:1184-1191, 1989.

* "Ethical and Regulatory Considerations in the Use of Cold-Blooded Vertebrates in Biomedical Research," Nonmammalian Animal Models for Biomedical Research 369-376, A. Woodhead, ed., Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press, 1989.

* "Advance Directives, Self-Determination, and Personal Identity," Advance Directives in Medicine 155-170, C. Hackler, R. Mosley & D. Vawter, eds., New York: Praeger Publishers, 1989.

* "Standards for Animal Research: Looking at the Middle," Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, 13:123-143, 1988.

* "Withholding Medical Treatment from the Severely Demented Patient," Archives of Internal Medicine, 148:1980-1984, 1988. Co-authored with several colleagues at Baylor College of Medicine.

* "Informed Consent in Emergency Care: Illusion and Reform," Annals of Emergency Medicine, 16:62-67, 1987. Co-authored with Eugene V. Boisaubin, Jr., M.D.

* "Animal Research," BioLaw: A Legal and Ethical Reporter on Medicine, Health Care, and Bioengineering 253-71, J. Childress, P. King, K. Rothenburg & W. Wadlington, eds., Frederick, Maryland: University Publications of America, 1986 & 1990 supplement.

* "Psychiatric Patients Who Refuse Nourishment," in General Hospital Psychiatry, 8:101-06, 1986. Co-authored with Eugene V. Boisaubin, Jr., M.D.

* "When Patients Resist Feeding: Medical, Ethical and Legal Considerations," Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 33:790-94, 1985.

* "Social Justice in New Reproductive Techniques," Genetics and the Law III 159-74, G. Annas & A. Milunsky, eds., New York: Plenum, 1985.

* "Discontinuing Nutrition Support: A Review of the Case Law," Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 85:1289-92, 1985.

* "Ethics, Law, and Nutritional Support," Archives of Internal Medicine, 145:122-24, 1985. Co-authored with Eugene V. Boisaubin, Jr., M.D.

* "Legal and Policy Considerations in Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa," International Journal of Eating Disorders, 3:43-51, 1984.

* "The Role of Advance Treatment Directives in Health Care Policy," Proceedings of the Third International Conference on System Science in Health Care 814-817, Eimeren, Engelbrecht & Flagle, eds., Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1984.

* "Bound to Treatment: The Ulysses Contract," Hastings Center Report, 14:13-16, June, 1984.

* "Refusing Electroshock Therapy," Hastings Center Report, 12:18, 20, December, 1982.

* "Deception Research and the HHS Final Regulations," IRB: A Review of Human Subjects Research, 3:3-4, April, 1981.

Others

* "Bush's Decision Reignited the Stem Cell Debate: Don't Hype the Hope," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 14, 2001, at B7 (editorial).

* "What We Don't Know Can Hurt Us: Human Testing Comes With a Price," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 10, 2001, at B7 (editorial).

* "Naive Expectations Endanger Biomedical Research," Chronicle of Higher Education, July 6, 2001, at B12 (commentary).

* "When the Hunt for a Cure Hits Close to Home," New York Times, § 3, Money and Business, at 13 (letter).

* Commentary, "Payment to Research Participants: The Importance of Context," American Journal of Bioethics, Spring, 2001, at 47.

* " Cloning Animals: What (Who?) Is Next?" New York Times, March 28, 2001, at A22 (letter).

* "Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research," Journal of the American Medical Association, 285:1439 (2001) (letter).

* Commentary, "Cosmetic Infertility Services and Professional Integrity," American Journal of Bioethics, Winter, 2001, at 11-12.

* "Weighing the Benefits of New Alzheimer's Treatments," Science, 289:869, 2000 (letter).

* "Help Doctors Who Help the Poor," New York Times, August 6, 2000 (letter).

* "Advance Research Directives: Implementation Issues," Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 48:859-60, 2000 (letter).

* American Society for Reproductive Medicine Ethics Committee, "Financial Incentives in Recruitment of Oocyte Donors," Fertility and Sterility,74:216-20, 2000 (primary drafter).

* "Covering Cancer Care," New York Times, December 19, 1999, § 4, at 12 (letter).

* "Research Involving Persons with Mental Disabilities: A Review of Policy Issues and Proposals," in National Bioethics Advisory Commission, Research Involving Persons with Mental Disorders That May Affect Decisionmaking Capacity, Commissioned Papers, 5-28, May, 1999.

* "Is Informed Consent Always Necessary for Randomized, Controlled Trials?" New England Journal of Medicine, 341: 449, 1999 (letter).

* Consensus Statement, Alzheimer's Disease International and International Working Group for Harmonization of Dementia Drug Guidelines, "Research Involving Human Subjects with Dementia," Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders, 13:71-79, 1999 (one of two primary drafters).

* "Animal Rights Review," Science, 283:938, 1999 (letter). Co-authored with F. Barbara Orlans, Tom Beauchamp, David Morton and John Gluck.

* Commentary, "Time Frame of Preferences, Dispositions, and Advance Directives," Philosophy, Psychiatry & Psychology, 5:247-49, 1998.

* "Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees," in Encyclopedia of Animal Rights and Animal Welfare, 204-207, M. Bekoff, ed., Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1998.

* "'Innovative' Surgery Was an Experiment in Disguise," New York Times, June 23, 1998, at A18 (letter).

* Commentary, "An Alert and Incompetent Self: The Irrelevance of Advance Directives," Hastings Center Report, 28:28-29, Jan.-Feb. 1998.

* "Nervous Doctors," New York Times, November 24, 1997, at A16 (letter).

* "The Rule of Double Effect," New England Journal of Medicine, 338:1390, 1998 (reply to correspondence). Co-authored with Timothy Quill, M.D. and Dan Brock, Ph.D.

* "Emergency Research and Research Involving Subjects with Cognitive Impairment: Ethical Connections and Contrasts, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 45:521-523, 1997 (editorial). Co-authored with Peter Whitehouse, M.D., Ph.D.

* "Ethics of Proxy Consent for Research Involving Patients With Adult Respiratory Syndrome," Journal of the American Medical Association, 276:949-50, 1996 (letter).

* Committee on Drugs and Committee on Bioethics, "Considerations Related to the Use of Recombinant Human Growth Hormone in Children," Pediatrics, 99:122-129, 1997 (primary ethics author).

* "Delegating the Notification of Death" and "Conscientious Objections," in Ethics in Emergency Medicine 262-65, 267-270, K. Iserson, A. Sanders & D. Mathieu, eds., Tucson: Galen Press, 2d ed. 1995 (case commentaries).

* "Conscientious Objections" reprinted in P. Windt & L. Francis, eds., Ethical Issues in the Professions, Prentice-Hall, 1989.

* "Baboon-to-Human Transplants: Should We Proceed?" Making the Rounds, 1:1, 3, October 9, 1995. Co-authored with Robert M. Arnold, M.D.

* "Problems in Law and Bioethics: Introduction," Health Matrix: Journal of Law-Medicine, 5:ix, Summer, 1995.

* "Confronting the `Near Irrelevance' of Advance Directives," Journal of Clinical Ethics, 5:55-56, 1994 (editorial).

* Committee on Bioethics, American Academy of Pediatrics, "Infants With Anencephaly as Organ Sources: Ethical Considerations," Pediatrics, 89:1116-19, 1992 (primary author).

* "Sources of Concern About the Patient Self-Determination Act," New England Journal of Medicine, 325:1666-71 (1991) (one of many authors).

* "Bioethicists' Statement on U.S. Supreme Court's Cruzan Decision," New England Journal of Medicine, 323:686-87 (1990) (one of many authors).

* Book Review, World Health Organization International Digest of Health Legislation, 1990 (reviewing Weir, Abating Treatment With Critically Ill Patients: Ethical and Legal Limits to the Medical Prolongation of Life, 1989).

* Collaborator, "Animals in Science: The Justification Issue," in "Animals, Science and Ethics," Special Supplement, Hastings Center Report, May/June 1990.

* "The Legal Context of Palliative Care," in Decisions at the End of Life, Center for Health Promotion and Education, Newton, Massachusetts: Education Development Center, 1989 (continuing education materials for health care professionals).

* "Death with Dignity: Patients' Rights and the Texas Hospice Movement," Personal Choices and Public Commitments 81-92, W. Winslade, ed., Galveston, Texas: Institute for the Medical Humanities, 1988 (monograph).

* "Physician Risk Preferences and Patient Care," Chest, 93:674-75, 1988 (editorial). Co-authored with Eugene V. Boisaubin, Jr., M.D.

* Book Review, Jurimetrics Journal, 28:251-254, 1987 (reviewing Appelbaum, Lidz & Meisel, Informed Consent: Legal Theory and Clinical Practice, 1987).

* "Refining the Review Committee Process: Policies and Procedures," in Scientists' Center for Animal Welfare Newsletter, 9(1):3-5, Spring, 1987.

* "The Case for the Use of Animals in Biomedical Research," New England Journal of Medicine, 316:552, 1987 (letter).

* "Regulation of Animal Experimentation," Journal of the American Medical Association, 255:1567-68, 1986 (letter).

* Book Review, "The DES Disaster and Other Hazards," Hastings Center Report, 15:46-47, October, 1985 (reviewing Apfel & Fisher, To Do No Harm: DES and the Dilemmas of Modern Medicine, 1984).

* "Obligatory Running and Anorexia Nervosa," Journal of the American Medical Association, 253:979-80, 1985 (letter).

* Book Review, Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, 9:423-25, 1984 (reviewing Dodds & Orlans, eds., Scientific Perspectives on Animal Welfare, 1982).

* "Involuntary Confinement: Legal and Psychiatric Perspectives," Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, 9:295-99, 1984 (commentary on J. Callahan, "Liberty, Beneficence, and Involuntary Confinement," same issue).

* "On Weinstein's 'Patient Attitudes Toward Mental Hospitalization: A Review of Quantitative Research,'" Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 21:393-96, 1980 (co-authored with others in postdoctoral fellowship program).