Biography

Myra J. Christopher (b. July 10 1947) is the Founder and former President and CEO for the Center for Practical Bioethics from 1985 to 2011, when she then became the Kathleen M. Foley Chair for Pain and Palliative Care and adjusted her role within the center to research. Throughout her career, Christopher has worked in various capacities to advance medical research, development, and practices concerning palliative medicine, chronic pain, and End-of-Life care, though was not limited to these areas. In 2015, Christopher was inducted into the Martha Jane Starr Women’s Hall of Fame. In 2018 she retired from the Center altogether.

Based in Kansas City, Missouri, the Center for Practical Bioethics was originally founded in 1984 as the Midwest Bioethics Center, with the goals of establishing and training hospital ethics committees; improving how communities care for those with terminal illness; and ensuring through advance care planning that the care patients receive matches their wishes. In 2004 the organization formally changed its name to the Center for Practical Bioethics due to philosophical reasons around the specific term “practical” bioethics, as well as the organization’s growing national impact through its Community-State Partnerships to Improve End of Life Care.

Sources:

Myra Christopher (CPB biography): https://www.practicalbioethics.org/team/myra-christopher/#:~:text=Myra%20Christopher%20was%20President%20and,to%20Implement%20a%20National%20Strategy

Starr Women’s Hall of Fame Inductees: https://www.umkc.edu/starrhalloffame/hall.asp

“Myra Christopher, longtime leader of Center for Practical Bioethics in KC, retires”, Andy Marso, The Kansas City Star, July 1, 2018

Center for Practical Bioethics Case Statement: https://www.practicalbioethics.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/CPB-Case-Statement-HR-1.pdf

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