Margaret Anne Ganley Somerville,
AMThe Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia on 14 February 1975 "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"....
,
FRSCThe Royal Society of Canada , now known as the RSC: Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...
(born April 13, 1942) is an
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n/
CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
ethicistAn ethicist is one whose judgment on ethics and ethical codes has come to be trusted by a specific community, and is expressed in some way that makes it possible for others to mimic or approximate that judgement...
and
academicAcademia, Acadème, or the Academy are collective terms for the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research....
. She is the Samuel Gale Professor of Law, Professor in the
Faculty of MedicineThe Faculty of Medicine is one of the constituent faculties of McGill University. It was established in 1823 as the Montreal Medical Institution, and became the first faculty of McGill College in 1829; it was the first medical faculty to be established in Canada....
and the Founding Director of the
Faculty of LawThe Faculty of Law is a constituent faculty of McGill University, in Montreal, Quebec. Its graduates obtain both a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Civil Law , concurrently, in three to four years, allowing them to practice in both the Canadian, U.S...
's Centre for Medicine, Ethics and Law at
McGill UniversityMcGill University is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
.
Somerville was born in
AdelaideAdelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth-largest city in Australia, with a population of more than 1.1 million. It is a coastal city situated on the eastern shores of Gulf St. Vincent, on the Adelaide Plains, north of the Fleurieu...
,
South AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories....
, and received a A.u.A. (pharm.) from the
University of AdelaideThe University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
in 1963, a Bachelor of Law degree (Hons. I) from the
University of SydneyThe University of Sydney is the oldest university in Australia. It was established in Sydney in 1850. It is a member of Australia's "Group of Eight" universities that are highly ranked in terms of their research performance...
in 1973, and a D.C.L.
Margaret Anne Ganley Somerville,
AMThe Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia on 14 February 1975 "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"....
,
FRSCThe Royal Society of Canada , now known as the RSC: Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...
(born April 13, 1942) is an
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n/
CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
ethicistAn ethicist is one whose judgment on ethics and ethical codes has come to be trusted by a specific community, and is expressed in some way that makes it possible for others to mimic or approximate that judgement...
and
academicAcademia, Acadème, or the Academy are collective terms for the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research....
. She is the Samuel Gale Professor of Law, Professor in the
Faculty of MedicineThe Faculty of Medicine is one of the constituent faculties of McGill University. It was established in 1823 as the Montreal Medical Institution, and became the first faculty of McGill College in 1829; it was the first medical faculty to be established in Canada....
and the Founding Director of the
Faculty of LawThe Faculty of Law is a constituent faculty of McGill University, in Montreal, Quebec. Its graduates obtain both a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Civil Law , concurrently, in three to four years, allowing them to practice in both the Canadian, U.S...
's Centre for Medicine, Ethics and Law at
McGill UniversityMcGill University is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
.
Biography
Somerville was born in
AdelaideAdelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth-largest city in Australia, with a population of more than 1.1 million. It is a coastal city situated on the eastern shores of Gulf St. Vincent, on the Adelaide Plains, north of the Fleurieu...
,
South AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories....
, and received a A.u.A. (pharm.) from the
University of AdelaideThe University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
in 1963, a Bachelor of Law degree (Hons. I) from the
University of SydneyThe University of Sydney is the oldest university in Australia. It was established in Sydney in 1850. It is a member of Australia's "Group of Eight" universities that are highly ranked in terms of their research performance...
in 1973, and a D.C.L. from
McGill UniversityMcGill University is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
in 1978.
From 1963 to 1969, she was a registered
pharmacistPharmacists are health professionals who practice the science of pharmacy. In their traditional role, pharmacists typically take a request for medicines from a prescribing health care provider in the form of a medical prescription, evaluate the appropriateness of the prescription, dispense the...
in South Australia,
VictoriaVictoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north, South Australia to the west, and Tasmania to the south, across the Bass Strait. Victoria is the most densely populated state, with over 70% of...
,
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
, and
New South WalesNew South Wales is Australia's most populous state, located in the south-east of the country, north of Victoria, south of Queensland and east of South Australia...
. After returning to University and receiving her law degree she became an attorney for a Sydney, Australia law firm, Mallesons (as it then was) (formerly Stephen, Jacques and Stephen; now
Mallesons Stephen JaquesMallesons Stephen Jaques is a commercial law firm that operates in the Asia-Pacific region. It is the largest law firm in Australia, and is considered one of the top commercial law firms throughout the Asia-Pacific region.-Offices:...
) from 1974 to 1975.
In 1978, Somerville was appointed an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Law at McGill University. She was appointed an Associate Professor in 1979 and an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine in 1980. In 1984, she became a Full Professor of the Faculty of Medicine and in 1989 was appointed the Samuel Gale Professor of Law. From 1986 to 1996, she was the founding Director of the McGill Centre for Medicine, Ethics and Law and was appointed acting Director in 1999. She currently teaches a seminar on Advanced Torts at McGill University.
In November 2006, she gave the annual
Massey LecturesThe Massey Lectures are a prestigious annual event in Canada, in which a noted Canadian or international scholar gives a week-long series of lectures on a political, cultural or philosophical topic. They were created in 1961 to honour Vincent Massey, Governor General of Canada...
on
CBC RadioCBC Radio is the radio division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The division operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language networks....
in
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The five lectures were published in book form as
The Ethical Imagination: Journeys of the Human Spirit.
Honours
In 1990, she was made a Member of the
Order of AustraliaThe Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia on 14 February 1975 "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"....
"for service to the law and to bioethics".
http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=882353&search_type=quick&showInd=trueIn 1991, she was made a Fellow of the
Royal Society of CanadaThe Royal Society of Canada , now known as the RSC: Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...
. In 2004, she was awarded
UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945...
's Avicenna Prize for Ethics in Science.
http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=20029&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
She has received honorary degrees from
University of WindsorThe University of Windsor is a non-denominational, provincially-supported, coeducational, public comprehensive university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost university. It has a student population of over 15,000 full-time and part-time undergraduate students and over 1000...
(1992),
Macquarie UniversityMacquarie University is an Australian public teaching and research university located in Sydney, with its main campus situated in Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of Sydney...
(1993), and
St. Francis Xavier UniversitySt. Francis Xavier University is a university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university brings together 4,200 students from across Canada and around the world in arts, science, business and information systems and applied programs....
(1996). Her most recent honorary degree awarded June 19, 2006 at
Ryerson UniversityRyerson University is a public research university located in downtown Toronto, Canada. It has 24,000 full-time students, and offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Its urban campus surrounds Yonge and Dundas Square, with the majority of its buildings in the blocks northeast of the...
in
TorontoToronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...
was controversial because of her objections to same sex marriage.
In 2006, Somerville was nominated for membership in the
Order of CanadaThe Order of Canada is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the highest such order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada. Created in 1967, to coincide with the centennial of Canadian...
by Carol Finlay, a professor at the
Toronto School of TheologyThe Toronto School of Theology is an ecumenical centre for graduate theological education and the largest of its kind in Canada and the English-speaking world. Affiliated with the University of Toronto, the TST comprises seven member colleges in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Reformed...
. Finlay says Somerville was turned down for the honour because she is,"too controversial."
Selected bibliography
- The Ethical Canary: Science, Society, and the Human Spirit (2000, ISBN 0-670-89302-1)
- Death Talk: The Case Against Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide (2001, ISBN 0-7735-2201-8)
- The Ethical Imagination: Journeys of the Human Spirit (2006, ISBN 0-88784-747-1)
- Do We Care? (May 26, 1999) ISBN 0773518789