Ruth Groenhout: In Memoriam

CERC is deeply saddened by the loss of Dr. Ruth Groenhout (1962-2024), a renowned scholar and influential voice in healthcare ethics. A prolific writer at the intersection of care ethics, feminism, and Christian ethics, Dr. Groenhout passed away on October 16. She was a guest on Martin Robb’s Careful Thinking Podcast, who penned this In Memoriam. Her university wrote this tribute to Dr. Groenhout with more links to her life and work.

Dr. Groenhout’s work has made a significant and lasting contribution to the field. In Connected Lives: Human Nature and an Ethics of Care, she examined the account of human nature that is implicit in an ethics of care, a picture of human lives that emphasizes interdependency. In the book, she argued that care theory hinges on a robust understanding of human flourishing, which requires a well-developed conception of human nature. She proposed that our embodied and finite existence underscores our inescapable interdependence, making care the essential moral response to this fundamental human condition. CERC came to know Dr. Groenhout as someone who not only theorized interdependency but also lived it.

We will deeply miss her and continue to draw inspiration from her groundbreaking work and remarkable life.