Reading Hospital, 1978

The series consists of files related to Veatch’s professional work at the Hastings Institute (then known as the Institute of Society, Ethics, and the Life Sciences) and the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University, broadly dating from the 1970s through the 2010s. It also includes files related to lectures and consulting work conducted for various other institutions during that time period. His work for various bioethical commissions, including the DHEW Task Force on Consent, DC Commission on Public Health Task Force on Organ and Tissue Donation, Committee on Science and Technology - Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee, and various NIH committees, is also part of this series.

The types of documents found in the series include correspondence, lecture notes, and meeting materials. Files that contain papers drafted by Veatch, lecture transcripts, and/or photographs have been noted at the folder-level.

Topically, the files document various aspects of bioethics, particularly death and dying, informed consent, and organ transplantation.

The series provides insight into the management and development of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics and the bioethics program at Georgetown University from the 1970s through the 1990s, including Veatch’s term as Director of the KIE. Of note are materials related to Sargent Shriver’s attempt to bring Veatch to the KIE in 1975, four years prior to his hiring. The series also includes documentation of the KIE’s relationship with the Philosophy Department at Georgetown and the development of the Encyclopedia of Bioethics (first and second editions).