Biomedical ethics

This book provides an alternative perspective on bioethics. It argues the case for making issues of corporate power, global inequality and sustainability central elements of the syllabus, insofar as they are fundamental in shaping health outcomes around the world, today and in the future.

The argument is that the neoliberal ideology, which has dominated economic and political thinking and decision making in much of the world for the last 30 years, has had generally dire consequences for the health of people, particularly poorer people, and of the planet. The book shows how and why this has been the case, and what needs to be done to improve the situation.

Most research projects, tertiary units and texts in bioethics focus upon ethical and legal issues of professional responsibilities of doctors, nurses and biomedical researchers. In particular they look at the responsibilities of such professionals to respect and protect the autonomy, rights and well-being of patients and research subjects including animal subjects of biomedical research.