History
The International Association of Catholic Bioethics (IACB) originated from a colloquium organized in 2004 by the Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute in Toronto, Canada, which was attended by representatives of many bioethics centres affiliated with Catholic hospitals and universities around the world. These bioethicists expressed a desire to form a community informed and inspired by the Catholic tradition that would foster regular discussions on emerging and controversial bioethical questions, especially those affecting the health care of vulnerable persons and groups in society. The group mandated Dr. William Sullivan and the late Dr. Nicholas Tonti-Filippini to approach the Grand Hospitaller and the Presidents of the Canadian and Australian associations of the Order of Malta for support for this undertaking.
At an international colloquium held in Melbourne, Australia, in 2005, the IACB was established, and in 2016, it was incorporated in Canada. The main work of the IACB has been to organize a biennial international colloquium and to promote collaborations among its associates in service, research, and education in bioethics.
In 2023, the community discerned that it would seek an academic home and broaden its base of supporters. In 2024, the IACB formed a partnership with the Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics at Georgetown University, Washington DC, and was incorporated in the United States.
The current President of the IACB is Dr. Bernadette Tobin of the Australian Catholic University, Sydney, Australia. The Chair of the Academic Committee is Dr. William Sullivan who holds the Joseph P. Kennedy Sr Chair in Bioethics at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University.