Theme: Thinking Biblically
about Bioethics in the Church
Thursday and Friday, January 22-23, 2026
The Life Forum 2026 is hosted by Anglicans For Life and is designed for ministry leaders, lay people, and anyone interested in understanding what Scripture teaches us about the inherent dignity of life. This year’s theme is Thinking Biblically about Bioethics. Life Forum will consider how the evolving landscape of secular life ethics collides with Christian morals, and introduce you to a new resource in the Church that can equip you to provide pastoral guidance on the issues that confront people in the pew.
Meet and hear from leading bioethicists, network with others who value life, learn about trends in the bioethical world, get answers to your questions during panel discussions and get equipped to talk about difficult topics more effectively. Life Forum welcomes all, ages 15 and up. There will also be a time for worship and prayer, and an opportunity to attend the March for Life in Washington, D.C.!
Come and experience a renewed sense of awe in God’s creation and leave encouraged that you can truly influence the new frontier of Bioethics in your church. If you cannot attend in-person, virtual tickets for both Thursday and Friday events are available.


Days Until Life Forum
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Schedule
Thursday, January 22, 2026
6:45-7:15 pm
Charcuterie and cookies
7:15 pm
Welcome by Canon Georgette Forney and music.
7:30-8:10 pm
Thinking Biblically about Bioethics from Conception
Speaker: Emma Waters
Natural conception is no longer taken for granted and while the culture embraces Assisted Reproductive Technologies, Christians need to fully understand the pros and cons associated with various infertility treatments. This presentation will help us understand the bigger picture behind conception in the 21st century and how we should navigate it.
Panel discussion with Elaine Petty guided by Canon Georgette Forney
Natural conception is no longer taken for granted, and as infertility rises, new technologies from IVF and embryo screening to AI-driven gene editing are reshaping how our culture views life and family. This panel will explore how Christians, rooted in a biblical vision of marriage, sex, and procreation, can navigate the promises and perils of these developments and lead the way in ensuring that reproductive technologies uphold human dignity.
8:45 pm
Offering, intercessory prayer, music and evening concludes.
Friday, January 23
8:30 am
Welcome by Canon Georgette Forney and music.
8:45 am
Thinking Biblically about Bioethics at the End-of-Life
Speaker: Dr Allen Roberts
While the facts of aging and dying seem pretty straightforward, Christians must recognize that bioethics now impacts how illness is diagnosed and how medical care is determined and delivered. Being informed will help us advocate and protect our loved ones from becoming victims of zealous healthcare providers.
Thinking Biblically about Bioethics in the Church
Speaker: C. Ben Mitchell
This presentation will allow us to review the myriad of ways that the inherent dignity of life collides with the secular view of utilitarianism of the body. It will also explain why it is critical for the Church to be teaching and preaching on these issues, recognizing that God calls us to be divine stewards of His creation. Therefore, the Church must go on the offense in addressing these modern technologies that threaten life, instead of years in the future defensively trying to get them stopped!
Panel discussion with Dr. Robert, C. Ben Mitchell, and Dr. Paul Hoehner, guided by Canon Georgette Forney.
11:00 am
Break
11:15 am
Morning Prayer and Worship
11:50 am
Attendees grab box lunches (must be purchased ahead of time), head for bus (if bus ticket purchased)
12* pm
Bus leaves
*There will also be a time of extended Prayer for those who cannot attend the March for Life. Those who are praying can also order lunch and head to the Learning Center. This prayer time will be available online through Zoom.
Meet the Speakers

Emma Waters
Thinking Biblically About Bioethics from Conception
Emma Waters is a Policy Analyst in the Center for Technology and the Human Person at The Heritage Foundation. Her work focuses on family, biotechnology, and restorative reproductive medicine. She is a co-author of “A Future for the Family: A New Technology Agenda for the Right” statement at First Things. Her first book, Lead Like Jael, will be released with Skyhorse Publishing in 2026. Emma graduated Valedictorian at Lee University with a B.S. in Political Science and a B.A. in Biblical and Theological Studies. She is currently pursuing a Master of Public Policy at The Catholic University of America. She lives in Ambridge, PA while her husband attends seminary, and is serving as the Anglicans For Life Bioethics Consultant in the development of the Anglican Bioethics Center website

Dr. Allen Roberts
Thinking Biblically about Bioethics at the End-of-Life
Dr. Allen H. Roberts II is a board-certified pulmonologist and critical care physician with over 40 years of experience in respiratory medicine, internal medicine, and medical ethics. Originally from Alexandria, Virginia, he earned his BA from the University of Virginia in 1977 and his MD from George Washington University School of Medicine in 1983. He later obtained an MDiv from Reformed Theological Seminary in 2013 and an MA in Bioethics from Trinity International University. Roberts served 20 years in the US Navy Medical Corps, retiring in 2003, and notably worked as a White House Physician under President George H.W. Bush. For the past two decades, he has practiced at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC, where he holds positions as Associate Medical Director and Chair of the Clinical Ethics Committee. He is a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians (FCCP) and the American College of Physicians (FACP). A resident of Washington, DC, he is married to Afsoon and has two daughters. The family attends The Falls Church Anglican in Falls Church, VA, where he is ordained. His interests include end-of-life care, transplantation ethics, and postgraduate medical education, particularly in critical care residency training. He has testified against physician-assisted suicide legislation in the District of Columbia.

C. Ben Mitchell
Thinking Biblically about Bioethics in the Church
C. Ben Mitchell, PhD, is a prominent American bioethicist, philosopher, and ordained minister specializing in the intersection of science, technology, and Christian ethics. He holds the Graves Chair of Moral Philosophy (emeritus) at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, where he previously served as provost and vice president for academic affairs. He earned his doctorate in philosophy with a concentration in medical ethics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, including clinical residencies at major medical centers. Mitchell has held key roles such as executive director and senior fellow at the Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity (2011–2021), research fellow at the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of the Southern Baptist Convention, and consultant on biomedical issues for organizations like the NIH and Johns Hopkins University. He edits Ethics & Medicine: An International Journal of Bioethics and has authored or co-authored books including Biotechnology and the Human Good (2007). Now retired from full-time academia, he continues writing, teaching, and consulting on topics like genetics, stem cell research, and human dignity

Elaine Petty
Thursday Night Panel Speaker
Elaine Griffith Petty’s experience ranges from working as a pediatric oncology nurse at Children’s National Medical Center in DC to teaching bioethics among university students, business and government leaders in the U.S. and internationally.
As a faculty member of the Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics at Georgetown University, she teaches bioethics to medical students, helping them learn how to develop coherent moral reasoning as they deal with challenging ethical cases.
She worked for 5 years with a joint venture with the Russian Ministry of Education training Russian teachers to use a curriculum teaching biblical morals and ethics. She also served as a Congressional Fellow where she addressed issues concerning international religious freedom. She is an advisor and speaker on Bioethics for “Faith & Law” on Capitol Hill, helping congressional staffers to consider how faith informs their calling to the public square.
Elaine has a B.S. in Nursing and a Master’s Degree in Bioethics from Georgetown University. Her article on Moral Implications of Embryonic Stem Cell Research was published by Georgetown University and her master’s thesis entitled Women for Sale and Eggs Needed: Is the Market for Egg Donation Developing Without Oversight That Protects Organ Donors? addresses ethical concerns surrounding the growing market for human egg donors.

Paul J. Hoehner MD, MATS, PhD, FAHA
Friday Morning Panel Speaker
Dr. Paul Hoehner received his undergraduate and medical degree from The Johns Hopkins University, where he also did his residency in Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine and a fellowship in Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesiology. He did a research fellowship in neuropharmacology at Janssen Pharmaceutica in Belgium and a clinical fellowship in emergency and critical care medicine at St. Jan Hospital in Brugge, Belgium. For several years Dr. Hoehner ran an NIH-funded receptor physiology laboratory at Johns Hopkins. He has held academic positions as an Associate Professor at the University of Mississippi, University of Virginia, Johns Hopkins University, and Dartmouth medical schools and for 40 years specialized in anesthesia for adult and pediatric cardiac surgery and transplantation.
Dr. Hoehner is also a graduate of Reformed Theological Seminary with a M.A. in Theological Studies and Reformed Episcopal Seminary in Anglican Studies. He obtained a PhD at the University of Virginia in Theology, Ethics, and Culture where he defended his doctoral dissertation on the theological ethics of Jonathan Edwards. He still works in the OR part-time but also writes and teaches in the areas of Christian ethics, bioethics ethics, the intersection of science and religion, and historical theology. He serves as a member of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations on their National Medical Ethics Advisory Committee, Speaker Bureau, and was the Maryland State Representative to CMDA’s House of Representatives. Dr. Hoehner is also a member of the Health Care Ethics Council at the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity.
Paul is the author of numerous publications, books, and textbooks, including The Covenant Theology of Jonathan Edwards: Law, Gospel, and Evangelical Obedience (Pickwick, 2018), Practicing Dignity: An Introduction to Christian Values and Decision Making in Health Care (Grand Canyon Univ, 2022, 2024), and Howard Kelly: A Scientific Man and the Bible (Reformed Academic Press, 2000).
Hotel Accommodations

Clarion Inn– Arlington
6633 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church, VA
Phone number: 571-749-4681
Group Name: Anglicans for Life
Group Number: UN62T4
$99/Night + tax
Amenities
- Free WiFi
- Free Full Breakfast
- Restaurant
- Lounge/Bar
- Check in 3:00 PM/check out 11:00 AM
All rooms MUST be booked before Monday, Dec 22, 2025. After this date, the group room block is released to the general public, and you will no longer have access to the special group rate.

Hampton Inn & Suites Falls Church
6430 Arlington Boulevard
Falls Church, VA 22042
$119/night
-
Free Buffet Style Breakfast
- Parking available at $10 per day
- Complimentary WiFi
- Indoor Heated Pool – Perfect Way to End Your Day!
- 24 Hr Free On-site Laundry, Fitness Centre & Business Centre etc
- Snack/Suite Shop
- Convenient Walking Distance to Restaurants
- Close to Shopping Centres, Grocery stores etc
- Closest Metro – East Falls Church Metro Station – less than 2 miles.
- Tax rate 15%
Explore additional Events while
you are in D.C….
- Students for Life is hosting their annual Pro-Life Summit, Saturday January 24.
- Visit The Bible Museum.
- Participate in the March for Life.
