Women and Children in Health Care: An Unequal Majority

The ideal of equality constitutes a criterion for assessing current practice through attention to differences among individuals and groups. Inequality occurs when irrelevant differences are invoked in order to secure power or advantages over others. This book examines health care issues from an egalitarian perspective, focusing particularly on those that affect the lives of women and children. These are some of the most hotly debated, controversial, yet genuinely humanitarian issues of our time. They include gender stereotypes in medicine and in adolescent socialization, fertility curtailment and enhancement, coercive treatment during pregnancy, fetal tissue transplantation, decisions regarding newborns, decision-making by minors, the feminization of poverty and its impact on women's and children's health, and the meaning and role of "family" in health care decisions. The book describes a case-based or "feminine" model of reasoning as appropriate to the health care setting, but
also as a possible rationale for exploitation of women. Different versions of feminism are clearly explained and specifically related to care-based reasoning. To overcome the pitfalls of paternalism and excessive stress on patient autonomy, a concept of "parentalism" is defended. An egalitarian perspective, the author claims, involves use of one's power to empower others. Because of the timeliness of the topics discussed, and the depth of detail, this book will be necessary reading for all bioethicists, health-care analysts and policy-makers, and women's studies researchers.

Although women and children comprise the majority of health caregivers and patients, they often do not receive equal treatment. This book addresses that discrepancy by focusing on health care issues that particularly affect women and children. Topics considered include gender stereotypes in medicine and in adolescent socialization, fertility curtailment and enhancement, coercive treatment during pregnancy, fetal tissue transplantation, decisions regarding newborns, decision-making by minors, the feminization of poverty and its impact on women's and children's health, and the meaning and role of "family" in health care decisions. Women and Children in Health Care examines these topics, often using actual cases to develop the analysis. The author describes a care-based model of reasoning while warning of its possible use as a rationale for exploitation of women in the context of health care. Different versions of feminism are explained and applied to different issues, with the author advocating an egalitarian perspective that involves the use of one's power to empower others. Health care approaches that affect the lives of women and children are some of the most controversial yet genuinely humanitarian issues facing society today. Because of the timeliness of the topics covered and the depth of detail, this book is necessary reading for all those interested in bioethics, health care, women, and children.

About the Author
Mary Briody Mahowald is Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and the College, and Assistant Director of the Center for Clinical Medical Ethics of the University of Chicago.