Feminism and Bioethics: Beyond Reproduction / Edition 1

by Susan M. Wolf

Overview

Bioethics has paid surprisingly little attention to the special problems faced by women and to feminist analyses of current health care issues other than reproduction. Feminism

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195095562
Publisher:	Oxford University Press, USA
Publication date:	04/28/1996
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	6.15(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.09(d)

Table of Contents

Introduction: Gender and Feminism in Bioethics, S.M. Wolf
I. The Relationship of Feminism and Bioethics
1. Feminism and Bioethics, S. Sherwin
2. Feminist Approaches to Bioethics, R. Tong
3. On Treatment of Myopia: Feminism, Standpoint Theory, and Bioethics, M.B. Mahowald
4. Reconstructing the Patient: Starting with Women of Color, D.E. Roberts
5. What Bioethics Can Learn from the Women's Health Movement, R. Dresser
II. Feminist Perspectives on Specific Problems in Bioethics
6. A Feminist View of Health, L.M. Purdy
7. Communicative Ethics in the Physician-Patient Relationship, J.F. Smith
8. Ethical Obstacles to the Participation of Women in Biomedical Research, V. Merton
9. Women as Vessels and Vectors: Lesson from the HIV Epidemic, R. Faden, N. Kass and D. McGraw
10. Gender and Death: Physician Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia, S.M. Wolf
11. Feminism, Bioethics, and Genetics, A. Asch and G. Geller
12. Justice in the Allocation of Health Care Resources: A Feminist Account, H.L. Nelson and J.L. Nelson

Editorial Reviews

"An important summation of the perspectives of several careful thinkers about feminism and feminism's observations about and influence upon bioethics. It will serve as an excellent catch-up tool for those with some prior interest in bioethics who are ready to explore or expand their knowledge about the theories and role of feminist and feminine ethics."— ournal of the American Medical Association

"This volume of original essays authored by leading figures in bioethics and feminist theory moves beyond reproduction, taking feminist analysis of bioethics into new territory....The authors demonstrate the benefit that results when bioethics pays careful attention to gender and feminism."—Issues in Law & Medicine

"Authors contributing to this collection present thoughtful, compelling, and intriguing arguments well deserving of critical attention...Makes a worthwhile and important contribution to the scholarly literature.—"Doody's Health Sciences Book Review Journal

From the Publisher

Reviewer: Diane M. Kondratowicz, PhD (University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine)
Description: This is a collection of 12 original essays written by noted scholars representative of a variety of academic disciplines and professional backgrounds.
Purpose: This work is intended to fill a void in the scholarly literature concerning a subject that, the editor notes, has long and unfortunately been overlooked. Focusing on the important role gender plays in healthcare, contributors explore what feminism might contribute to bioethics.
Audience: This work is intended primarily for scholars in medical ethics and women's studies. The content and format of the book would also lend itself well to academic instruction.
Features: The book is divided into two sections. Section I, consisting of five essays, addresses the relationship between feminism and bioethics. Section II, consisting of seven essays, discusses a range of specific healthcare issues in relation to women and feminism. Essay topics include a feminist conception of health, communication in the physician-patient relationship, justice in the context of healthcare resources, genetics, euthanasia, biomedical research, and the HIV epidemic.
Assessment: Authors contributing to this collection present thoughtful, compelling, and intriguing arguments well deserving of critical attention. By means of introduction, for example, the editor explores the many reasons, inherent in the discipline of bioethics itself, why the subject at hand has long been overlooked. In Section I contributors validate the experiences, interests, and insights of women and offer a number of innovative ideas concerning how their perspectives might be incorporated into healthcare practice (e.g., feminist standpoint theory). Focusing on specific healthcare issues, contributors in Section II reinforce the importance of gender and the necessity for the inclusion of feminist perspectives in bioethics. Overall, this work does well in filling the void identified by the editor and, as such, makes a worthwhile and important contribution to the scholarly literature.

Doody's Review Service