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9780801868023 Academic Inspection Copy

Bioethics in a Liberal Society

The Political Framework of Bioethics Decision Making
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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.


Contents:



Preface

Acknowledgments



1 Introduction: The Liberal Framework



I Patient Autonomy



2 Patient Autonomy and Informed Consent

3 Patient Responsibility for Decision Making

4 Advance Directives: Extending Autonomy for Patients



II Professional Rights of Conscience



5 Beneficence, Abandonment, and the Duty to Treat

6 Rights of Conscience in the Physician-Patient Relationship

7 Conclusion: Health Care Ethics Committees and Consultants in a Liberal Framework



References

Index

""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.""

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