I recently finished “The Future of Bioethics” by Howard Brody, MD, PhD. Dr. Brody took the helm at the University of Texas Medical Branch as Director for the Institute for the Medical Humanities in 2006. This book could be termed “the rest of the story” in bioethics. The book takes a very serious look at issues that have NOT necessarily been on the forefront of medical and bioethics discussion over the past decade as the discipline has grappled with high profile – and high tech – issues such as the nanotechnology and human cloning. Rather, this volume brings the focus of bioethics back to the basics and asks: “What is the role of the bioethicist in speaking for the disenfranchised, the poor and the disabled?”
I was particularly pleased to see an entire chapter devoted to the intersection of bioethics, the environment and sustainability. We may face no greater threat to our well-being during this century than environmental destruction. It is high time that we look at this as an ethical issue and worthy of attention from the medical community at large. Bravo.
This is an inquiry into social justice at its best. Get it, read it.
Randale