Norman Fost, MD, MPH Biography
- Title:
- Professor and Director of the Medical Ethics Program at the University of Wisconsin
- Position:
- Pro to the question "Should Performance-Enhancing Drugs Be Accepted in Sports?"
- Reasoning:
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“Nearly everyone condemns the use of drugs – amphetamines, cocaine, steroids, and narcotics, in sports. But other drugs – antibiotics, insulin, vitamins, and aspirin – are quite acceptable. The basis for these distinctions is not obvious, nor is it self-evident why there should be any restrictions on the use of drugs in sports. Drugs can be used for various purposes: to restore a person with a disease to normal function; to improve function in a healthy person; to relieve pain; and to give pleasure, with no expected effects on performance. Let me emphasize my personal distaste for drugs in sports, particularly performing-enhancing and recreational drugs. As an athlete, I would not use them. As a physician, I would not prescribe them. As a father, I would urge my children to avoid them. As a citizen, I deplore their widespread use. But these are merely preferences and not a sufficient basis for national policy that claims to be based on ethical considerations.”
“Banning Drugs in Sports: A Skeptical View,” Hastings Center Report, Aug. 1986
- Involvement and Affiliations:
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- Chair, Ethics and Security Advisory Board, Marshfield Personalized Medicine Research Project, 2004-present
- Chair, Hospital Ethics Committee, University of Wisconsin, 1984-present
- Professor, Pediatrics and Bioethics, University of Wisconsin, 1973-present
- Director and Founder, Medical Ethics Program, University of Wisconsin, 1973-present
- Vice Chair, Department of Medical History and Bioethics, University of Wisconsin, 1973-present
- Pediatrician, 1964-present
- Chair, Health Sciences Institutional Review Board, University of Wisconsin, 1977-2008
- Recipient, Patricia Price Browne Award in Bioethics, 2007
- Recipient, Lifetime Achievement Award, Protection of Human Subjects, 2006
- Head, Child Protection Team, University of Wisconsin, 1973-2006
- Recipient, American Academy of Pediatrics William G. Bartholome Award for Excellence in Ethics, 2003
- Elected Member, Princeton University Board of Trustees, 1994-1998
- Recipient, Nellie Westermann Prize for Research Ethics, 1997
- DeCamp Visiting Professor, Bioethics, Princeton University, 1996-1997
- Vice Chair, Department of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin, 1985-1995
- Member, President Clinton’s Health Care Task Force, 1994
- Director, Pediatric Residency Training Program, University of Wisconsin, 1973-1994
- Co-Chair, American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) Committee on Insurance Issues, 1992
- Member, ASHG Committee on Population Screening and the Cystic Fibrosis Heterozygote Screening, 1992
- Chair, Office of Technology Assessment Committee on Cystic Fibrosis Screening, 1991
- Education:
-
- MPH, Harvard University, 1973
- MD, Yale University, 1964
- AB, Princeton University, 1960
- Other:
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- Fellow, Program in Law, Medicine and Ethics, Harvard University, 1972-1973
- Quoted in: