Francoise Baylis

Françoise Elvina Baylis is a Canadian bioethicist, born in 1961. Her work lies at the intersection of applied ethics, health policy, and practice. Her primary research interests include women's health and assisted reproductive technologies. However, her scholarly contributions also encompass research involving humans (including human embryo research), gene editing, novel genetic technologies, public health, the role of bioethics consultants, and neuroethics. Baylis is recognized for her engagement with bioethics' impact on health and public policy, and her dedication to citizen engagement and participatory democracy, often communicating her work through various media platforms. She earned a Certificate of Bilingualism from Laurentian University, a BA in political science from McGill University, and an MA and PhD in philosophy with a specialization in bioethics from the University of Western Ontario. Her doctoral thesis introduced a novel ethical distinction between viable and non-viable human embryos, a concept that continues to be referenced. Baylis has held academic positions at Dalhousie University, the University of Tennessee, and the University of Toronto. She has also served as an ethics consultant for various organizations and hospitals. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Baylis has been a principal investigator on numerous research grants, securing substantial funding for health ethics research. Her fields of research include bioethics consultants, research involving children, women, and pregnant women, intergenerational justice, and conscientious objection in medicine. She has also been instrumental in building research capacity and fostering research communities, particularly through her involvement with Feminist Approaches to Bioethics (FAB) and various Canadian health science research councils. Baylis actively informs public policy and debate, advocating for social justice and critiquing institutional practices that lead to conflicts of interest in research funding and governance. She has authored reports for UNESCO and provided expert testimony for parliamentary committees and courts. Her concept of "impact ethics" emphasizes questioning the status quo, making science subservient to the human good, and making public institutions more responsive and just.