Albert Rupert Jonsen

1931 - 2020

Albert Rupert Jonsen 1931 - 2020 Albert R. Jonsen, a founder of the field of bioethics, age 89, passed away peacefully on October 21, 2020 at his home in San Francisco after a brief illness. A native of San Francisco, Al was born to Albert R. Jonsen, an advertising executive with the Hearst newspapers, and Helen Sweigert Jonsen, the daughter of pre-Gold Rush San Franciscans. After graduating from Loyola High School Los Angeles in 1949, Al joined the Society of Jesus and in 1962 was ordained a Catholic priest. During his Jesuit training, he taught philosophy at Loyola University of LA (now Loyola Marymount). After his training, he taught philosophy and theology at the University of San Francisco. He received a doctorate in religious studies from Yale University in 1967, and was chosen as President of the University of San Francisco in 1969. In 1972 he was invited to join the medical faculty of the University of California to initiate courses in medical ethics. Al was granted a papal dispensation from his vows in 1976 and married Mary Elizabeth Carolan (Liz). Al Jonsen was not a physician. He was trained in philosophy and theology. Still, he became a prominent figure in the medical world. He was a member of the American Board of Medical Specialties and the American Board of Medical Examiners; he was a consultant to the American College of Physicians, the American Board of Internal Medicine and the College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The White House selected Jonsen to serve on the first two federal commissions designated to study and formulate policy for major issues in bioethics. In 1978 President Gerald Ford appointed him to the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research and he served on the President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine. In 1981, he was elected to the Institute of Medicine (now the National Academy of Medicine). In 1987 Jonsen assumed the chairmanship of the Department of Medical History and Ethics, School of Medicine, University of Washington until his retirement in 2003. He spent his final academic year as the first Visiting Professor of Bioethics at Yale University, then returned to San Francisco and co-founded with William Andereck, his good friend and personal physician, the Program in Medicine and Human Values at California Pacific Medical Center. He taught a variety of courses in ethics, bioethics and religious history at the Fromm Institute for Lifelong Learning. Jonsen authored innumerable articles and leading books in the emerging field of Bioethics. His "Birth of Bioethics" (Oxford, 1987) is the history of its first three decades. As a Guggenheim Scholar, he spent a year at Christ Church, Oxford, researching and writing "The Abuse of Casuistry: A History of Moral Reasoning" (University of California 1986) with British philosopher Stephen Toulmin, a book which provided a systematic approach to a form of moral argument suitable for the reasoning in bioethics. His "Short History of Medical Ethics" (Oxford 2000) reviewed that field from its origins in ancient Greek medicine to modern bioethics. With fellow bioethicists, Mark Siegler, MD and William Winslade, JD, PhD, he wrote "Clinical Ethics: A Practical Approach to Ethical Decisions in Clinical Medicine," currently in the eighth edition and translated into seven languages. Joseph Fins, MD, a current leader of the field, wrote, "Al Jonsen is one of that select pantheon who launched bioethics playing a unique role, recognized by all working in the field." In 2009 Johns Hopkins Berman Institute for Bioethics honored Al with the Meyerhoff Award for Leadership in Bioethics. He was awarded the Henry Knowles Beecher Award for contributions to ethics and the life sciences in 2017. Albert Jonsen was a devoted husband, a loving brother, a role model for his nieces and nephews, and a loyal friend. His family and friends recall his sketches, stories, and limericks of mythical places and characters, inspired by Al and Liz's extensive global travel. Family gatherings were incomplete without tales of their travels told in flawless dialect. Al loved sailing with Liz and often recalled a memorable voyage on the Mediterranean with Liz's brother Tom. Al was a wonderful conversationalist, whether the topic was philosophy, history or the weather. He loved fine cuisine and wine and was a patron of the arts. Al leaves his wife of 44 years, Mary Elizabeth (Carolan); his brothers, Richard of Denver, CO and Robert (Cecile) of Novato, CA; his sister Ann Marie Carrick of Concord, CA and many nieces and nephews. He will be missed by his family and all who knew him. A Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated in St. Ignatius Church, San Francisco, followed by a Celebration of Life, both to be held at a later date.