Athletes and Abortion

THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION, May 30 — NCAA president Myles Brand has ordered a review of the association’s guidelines and policies for pregnant athletes. The review, to be conducted by the NCAA’s Committee on Women’s Athletics, was triggered by an exposé last month on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” program. It reported that numerous Clemson University women’s basketball players have had abortions because of a fear of losing their scholarships due to their pregnancies. NCAA bylaws allow female students an extra year of eligibility if they become pregnant, but decisions about their athletic participation are made by individual campuses.

Bioethics Conference

FRANCISCAN UNIVERSITY OF STEUBENVILLE, June 4 — Franciscan University will hold a conference this fall that it says will “provide solid guidance for those on the frontlines” of key bioethical issues. The Oct. 25-27 conference will feature lectures by leading Catholic bioethicists and will be directed at doctors, nurses, clinicians and administrators seeking a better understanding of issues like abortion, stem cell research and assisted suicide. Presenters will include three members of the President’s Council on Bioethics, its chairman Dr. Edmund Pellegrino, founder of Georgetown’s Center for Clinical Bioethics, Princeton law professor Robert George and Dr. William Hurlbut.

Faith Inventory

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, May 30 — In collaboration with the Paulist National Catholic Evangelization Association, Georgetown’s Office of Campus Ministry has created an online college edition of the Catholic Faith Inventory. The inventory, which has already been taken online by more than 50 Georgetown students, is a questionnaire intended to provoke personal reflections on faith. It was originally designed for adult catechesis.