Bioethics and Women: Across the Life Span

288 Pages·2006·1.65 MB·English

by  Mary Briody Mahowald

Bioethics and Women:
Across the Life Span
MARY BRIODY MAHOWALD
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
Bioethics and Women
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Bioethics and Women
Across the Life Span
MARY BRIODY MAHOWALD
1
2006
1
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Copyright#2006byOxfordUniversityPress,Inc.
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Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,
storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,
electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwise,
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Mahowald,MaryBriody.
Bioethicsandwomen:AcrosstheLifeSpan/MaryBriodyMahowald.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN-13978-0-19-517617-9
ISBN0-19-517617-0
1. Medicalethics. 2. Bioethics. 3. Feminism—Moral
andethicalaspects. 4. Women—Healthandhygiene. I. Title.
R725.5.M342006
176—dc22 2006040004
2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
onacid-freepaper
In loving memory of my mother and my sister
and for all of our daughters
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
MythanksareduefirsttoAnneDrapkinLyerly,whomighthavebeenmycoauthorif
otherobligationshadn’tintervenedinthetask.Anniewas,inasense,myinspiration
for writing the book. Later on, Lisa Harris, another obstetrician-gynecologist, re-
viewed a great deal of the manuscript, and provided me with extremely helpful
suggestions.
Thanks tooto various members ofthe faculty inthe Department of Obstetrics
and Gynecology and the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the Uni-
versityofChicago,whichhasbeenmyacademichomesince1990.Theseincludebut
are not limited to Sarah Adams, Daniel Brauner, David Cohen, Ismail Mahmoud,
ErnstLengyel,WilliamMeadow,MauraQuinlan,JaideepSingh,andDianeYamada.
Thewillingnessoftheseclinicianstoreviewmaterial,discusscases,andanswermy
questionshassurelymadethebookmoreclinicallycrediblethanitwouldotherwise
be.KennethIserson,fromtheUniversityofArizonaCollegeofMedicine,hasalso
beenhelpfulinthisregard.Othermembersofmydepartmentwhoperformedtasks
forwhichtheyhadbetterexpertisethanIincludeSteveGadzinski,GailIsenberg,and
BeatriceMerigold.
I am grateful to members of the Center for Biomedical Ethics at Stanford
University,withwhomIspentmostoftheacademicyear2001–2002workingonthe
bookandenjoyingmyinteractionswiththem.Duringthistime,Ialsobenefitedby
detailedandthoughtfulsuggestionsfromanonymousreviewersatOxfordUniversity
Press.
Because I spent the first part of my academic career in a philosophy depart-
ment, the content of Bioethics and Women has undoubtedly been influenced by
viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
philosopherswhoseworkIread,especiallythosewhohavedaredtofocusonissues
of particular relevance to women. I have long counted Alison Jaggar, Rosemarie
Tong,JoanCallahan,andLauraPurdyinthisgroup.InadditiontoLaura,Jennifer
Parks,NancySnow,andSaraGoehringhavebeengenerousenoughtoreviewparts
of the manuscript and give me helpful feedback.
Jeffrey House was my first contact at Oxford, and as with previous books, he
handledtheprojectwiselyandefficiently,particularlywhenIworriedaboutlosing
acoauthorandbeingunabletomeetOxford’sdeadline.PeterOhlin,whopickedup
the baton from Jeff, has proved a worthy successor, ably assisted by Lara Zoble.
Cynthia Garver did an excellent job of copyediting, and Linda Donnelly, the pro-
duction editor, facilitated the project not only through her helpful suggestions but
alsothrougheaseofcontact.Twopeopleofferedrelevantphotosorsketchesforthe
book’s jacket: Annette Mendola, whom I hope someday to thank in person, and
GermaineWieman,alongtimefriend,whomIwillthankinpersonsometimesoon.
Last but definitely not least, I want to thank Tony, my life partner and best
friend,whohasnotonlycontributedtothebookthroughhislovingsupportofme,
ourchildren,andmywork,butalsobyhelpingmetoavoidmistakesinhisareaof
expertise, developmental biology and genetics.