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Affiliate member

Marcel Verweij

Institute

Utrecht University

Position

Full professor

E-mail

m.f.verweij@uu.nl

Online

Personal Page Utrecht University
Personal website

Visiting address:

Janskerhof 13a
3512BL. Utrecht

Profile

Since April 1st, 2023 I am professor of philosophical ethics at the Ethics Institute / Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Utrecht University. My main interest is in practical ethics, notably public health ethics, and in the relationships between moral philosophy and normative theory and practical ethical decision making. In the past years I have been working - obviously given my focus on public health - on ethical issues in relation to the Covid19 pandemic. My major research theme however was vaccination ethics more in general. In 2024 I published a monograph Inducing Immunity? Justifying Immunization Policies in Times of Vaccine Hesitancy together with Roland Pierik of Maastricht University (open access!). Apart from vaccination policies I'm currently involved as advisor at Zorginstituut Nederland, as member of the committee that advises on contents of the (mandatory) basic health insurance package.

A general theme in the last years and presumably upcoming years is to gain a better understanding of the normative character of the value of (health) solidarity, and its links with sustainability. This theoretical issue is relevant to policy questions in relation to vaccination, infectious disease control, local and global health inequalities, and access to health care.

My view on practical philosophy is to build bridges between theoretical analysis and practical moral problems in professional areas or public policy. This has resulted in in-depth analyses of problems in public health, such as: how far should professionals go in promoting health of citizens; what responsibilities do citizens have to take precautions against infection; and how should governments allocate scarce medical resources during an influenza pandemic. These are questions about health that go far beyond a medical-professional perspective; they concern responsibilities of all societal actors to contribute to health and quality of life.

My philosophical approach to practical societal issues is also the key in various reflection/consultative roles, for example for the World Health Organization. Since 2005, I have been member of the Health Council of the Netherlands and contributed to more than 25 advisory reports for the Minister of Health, including reports on collective vaccination, screening, preconception counseling, special policies for high-risk groups, and expert reports on Q-Fever and Mexican Flu. Since 2016 I am member of the Adviescommissie Pakket of Zorginstituut Nederland, a committee that advises on the content of the basic health insurance package.

For practical ethics, contributing to reflection on ethical issues in professions, policy-making and in public debate more general is, in my view, essential. For more information about such contributions, see the public debate section on my personal website.

Recent key publications:

Inducing Immunity? Justifying Immunization Policies in Times of Vaccine Hesitancy, MITpress, 2024. Co-authored with Roland Pierik)

The (un)fairness of vaccination free riding. Public Health Ethics 2022;15(3): 233–239.

Facing difficult but unavoidable choices: Donor blood safety and the deferral of men who have sex with men. Bioethics 2022;36(8): 840-848 (co-authored with Roland Pierik; Thijs van de Laar and Hans Zaaijer of Sanquin Bood Services).

Publications

(selection)

2016

• Verweij, MF, Lambach P. Ortiz JR, Reis A, Maternal Immunization: Ethical Issues. The Lancet Infectious Diseases 2016;16 (12): e310–e314.
• Verweij MF, Bovenkerk B. Ethical promises and pitfalls of OneHealth. Public Health Ethics 2016;9(1):1-4.

2015

• Verweij, M.F. “How (not) to argue for the rule of rescue. Claims of Individuals vs Group Solidarity” In: I. Glenn Cohen, Norman Daniels, and Nir Eyal (eds.) Identified versus Statistical Victims. An Interdisciplinary Perspective. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015: pp. 137-149.

2014

• Verweij M.F. and Houweling H. “What is the responsibility of national government with respect to vaccination?” Vaccine. 2014; 32(52):7163-6. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.10.008.
• Verweij M.F. Curiosity and responsibility. Philosophy in relation to healthy food and living conditions. Inaugural lecture. Wageningen: Wageningen University, 2014.

2013

• Schmidt S. and Verweij M.F. “The PHM-Ethics methodology: interdisciplinary technology assessment of personal health monitoring.” In: Schmidt S, Rienhoff O (eds.) Interdisciplinary assessment of personal health monitoring. Amsterdam: IOS Press, 2013: 13-22.
• Rump, B., Cornelis, C., Woonink, F., Verweij, M. “The need for ethical reflection on the use of molecular microbial characterisation in outbreak management” Eurosurveillance 2013;18(4):9.
• van der Burg S., Verweij M.F. “Maintaining Trust in Newborn Screening: Compliance and Informed Consent in the Netherlands” Hastings Center Report 2012; 42 (5):41-47. DOI: 10.1002/hast.66

2012

• Collste G., Verweij M.F. “Personal health monitoring and human interaction.” The American Journal of Bioethics 2012 (9): 47-48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2012.699151

2011

• Verweij M.F. "Fraud, Excuse, and Responsibility". In: Dubbink, W., van Luijk, H., and L. van Liedekerke. European Business Ethics. Cases in Context. Springer, 2011: 285-290.
• Verweij M.F. "The pharmaceutical industry and the Aids crisis". In: Dubbink, W., van Luijk, H., and L. van Liedekerke. European Business Ethics. Cases in Context. Springer, 2011: 33-45.
• Verweij M. "The distinction between research and practice. A response to Tom Beauchamp" Journal of Internal Medicine 2011;269 (4): 388-391.