Loyola University Chicago

Department of Philosophy

Full-Time Faculty

Jennifer Parks, PhD

Title/s:  Professor;
Bioethics Minor Director

Office #:  Crown Center 337

Phone: 773.508.2308

Email: jparks1@luc.edu

CV Link: Jennifer Parks CV

About

Jennifer Parks is Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Undergraduate Bioethics Minor Program at Loyola University. Her areas of specialization include health care ethics (with special interests in reproductive technologies and end of life issues), feminist theory (with a focus on care ethics), and social philosophy. She is currently working on medical aid in dying and global issues in reproductive technologies.

She has written a number of books, including No Place Like Home? Feminist Ethics and Home Health Care (2003), Bioethics in a Changing World (co-authored with Victoria Wike, 2009), and Ethics, Aging, and Society: The Critical Turn (co-authored with Martha Holstein and Mark Waymack, 2011). She has also published a variety of articles which have been printed in such journals as The Hastings Center Report, Bioethics, Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy, The International Journal of Applied Philosophy, and the Journal of Medical Humanities.

Dr. Parks teaches both graduate and undergraduate courses in health care ethics, feminist theory, disability theory, reproductive ethics, and aging and ethics. She is faculty advisor and coach for Loyola's undergraduate Ethics Bowl and Bioethics Bowl teams.

Degrees

PhD, McMaster University
MA, Queens University, Ontario 
BA, Queens University, Ontario 

Research Interests

Feminist Moral Theory, Women's Reproductive Health, Health Care Ethics, Aging and Long-Term Care, Medical Aid in Dying

Selected Publications

Books

Ethics, Aging, and Society: The Critical Turn, Martha Holstein, Jennifer Parks, and Mark Waymack, Springer Publishing Company, 2010. 

No Place Like Home? Feminist Ethics and Home Health Care, Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2003.

Articles 

“A Feminist Approach to Medical Aid in Dying: Identifying a Path Forward” in New Directions in the Ethics of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia, 2nd edition, Michael Cholbi and Jukka Varelius, eds., Springer Publishing 2022.

“Dying Well in Nursing Homes During Covid-19 and Beyond: The Need for a Relational and Familial Ethic," (co-authored with Maria Howard). Bioethics 35(6), 2021: 585-569.

“Gestation as Mothering,” (co-authored with Timothy F. Murphy). Bioethics 34(9), 2020: 360-368.

“Who's Your Mama? Assisted Reproductive Technology and the Meaning of Motherhood,” How Technology is Changing Human Behavior: Issues and Benefits, Carlos Prado, ed. Praeger, 2019: 43-64.