Bioethics in a Liberal Society: The Political Framework of Bioethics Decision Making

by Thomas May

Overview

Issues concerning patients' rights are at the center of bioethics, but the political basis for these rights has rarely been examined. In Bioethics in a Liberal Society: The Political Framework of Bioethics Decision Making, Thomas May offers a compelling analysis of how the political context of liberal constitutional democracy shapes the rights and obligations of both patients and health care professionals. May focuses on how a key feature of liberal society—namely, an individual's right to make independent decisions—has an impact on the most important relational facets of health care, such as patients' autonomy and professionals' rights of conscience.

Although a liberal political framework protects individual judgments, May asserts that this right is based on the assumption of an individual's competency to make sound decisions. May uses case studies to examine society's approach to medical decision making when, for reasons ranging from age to severe mental disorder, a person lacks sufficient competency to make independent and fully informed choices. To protect the autonomy of these vulnerable patients, May emphasizes the need for health care ethics committees and ethics consultants to help guide the decision-making process in clinical settings. Bioethics in a Liberal Society is essential reading for all those interested in understanding how bioethics is practiced within our society.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801868023
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	02/12/2002
Pages:	152
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.71(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Thomas May is an associate professor and director of Graduate Studies in Bioethics at the Center for the Study of Bioethics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1. Introduction. The Liberal Framework
Part I. Patient Autonomy
Chapter 2. Patient Autonomy and Informed Consent
Chapter 3. Patient Responsibility for Decision Making
Chapter 4. Advance Directives: Extending Autonomy for Patients
Part II. Professional Rights of Conscience
Chapter 5. Beneficence, Abandonment, and the Duty to Treat
Chapter 6. Rights of Conscience in the Physician-Patient Relationship
Chapter 7. Conclusion. Health Care Ethics Committees and Consultants in a Liberal Framework
References
Index

What People are Saying About This

Mark P. Aulisio

May's book focuses on an extremely important, but much neglected and misunderstood area of bioethics, that is, the implications of a liberal constitutional political framework for bioethical decision-making.

From the Publisher

May's book focuses on an extremely important, but much neglected and misunderstood area of bioethics, that is, the implications of a liberal constitutional political framework for bioethical decision-making.
—Mark P. Aulisio, Case Western Reserve University, Center for Biomedical Ethics

Editorial Reviews

May's book is a helpful overview and introduction to the political framework of bioethics decision making within a liberal society. It touches explicitly on the issues of perceived and actual lack of competence, substituted decision making, advanced directives and the important roles of ethics committees and consultants. There is no doubt that this book marks an important contribution to the literature.

Metapsychology - Christopher Newell

May's book is a helpful overview and introduction to the political framework of bioethics decision making within a liberal society. It touches explicitly on the issues of perceived and actual lack of competence, substituted decision making, advanced directives and the important roles of ethics committees and consultants. There is no doubt that this book marks an important contribution to the literature.

— Christopher Newell, Ph.D.

Metapsychology

May's book is a helpful overview and introduction to the political framework of bioethics decision making within a liberal society. It touches explicitly on the issues of perceived and actual lack of competence, substituted decision making, advanced directives and the important roles of ethics committees and consultants. There is no doubt that this book marks an important contribution to the literature.
--Christopher Newell, Ph.D., Metapsychology

From the Publisher