Chilled
Attorneys rule the world--at least that's how it seems, sometimes.But is there a point at which legal concerns about risk management and confidentiality have a chilling effect on the writing and teaching of pastoral theologians?
It's more than a rhetorical question for me, because a publisher recently required a formal, personal release from a dead man's family before accepting a written reflection on my own experience of grief.
This was not case material gleaned from clinical practice. It was not data obtained during research. It was not confidential information about a living, breathing person.
It was theological reflection on my own life.
But it included details about a deceased friend. And because a dead person cannot sign a release form, the publisher wanted one from his family.
So I have to ask: Should an account of a personal experience require the permission of people not even involved in order to be published?
Granted, the publisher's concerns are warranted [see the statement about attorneys running the world]. Neither factuality nor absence of malice are a defense for charges of invasion of privacy. And changing a person's name or identifying details are not always sufficient protections.
At the seminary where I teach, we are already expected to have informed consent when using live or videotaped interviews in classroom instruction. Changing personal details and names in written and oral presentations is mandated by the faculty handbook in order to maintain confidentiality.
I understand and support these protections.
But being required to ask permission to publish from people not even mentioned in my writing meant they could potentially stifle my voice simply by saying "no." And that concerns me.
It makes me less likely to write publicly about my own experiences of giving and receiving care. Others, I suspect, would respond similarly.
And that can't be good for constructive theology in the public arena.
.: Posted by Duane Bidwell on Thursday, September 02, 2004
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