Guantanamo and Other Cases of Enforced Medical Treatment: A Biopolitical Analysis (SpringerBriefs in Ethics)

This volume presents a number of controversial cases of enforced medical treatment from around the globe, providing for the first time a common, biopolitcal framework for all of them. Bringing together all these real cases guarantees that a new, more complete understanding of the topic will be within grasp for readers unacquainted with the aspects involved in these cases. On the one hand, readers interested mainly in the legal and medical dimensions of cases like those considered will benefit from the explanation of the biopolitical framework within which each case develops. On the other hand, those focusing on only one of the situations presented here will find the parallels between the cases an interesting expansion of the complexity of the problem. Despite the book's ambitious goal, for those willing to use it as supplemental material or interested in only one of the cases, the chapters can function as self-standing pieces to be read separately. This volume will be a valuable tool for both academics and professionals. Bioethicists in both the analytic and continental traditions, will find the book interesting for not only the specific concepts and issues considered, but also for its constructive bridging of the two schools of thought. In addition to philosophers, the structure of this work will also appeal to lawyers, doctors, human rights activists, and anyone concerned in the most disparate way with real-life cases of enforced medical treatment. Preface 7 Acknowledgments 13 Contents 15 1 The Concepts of Autonomy, Competence and Biopolitics 17 1.1 Introduction 17 1.2 Autonomy 17 1.2.1 Autonomy as Freedom to Have One's Will Respected 22 1.2.2 Autonomy as Substantive-Procedural Conception 22 1.2.3 Autonomy as Consistency with Past Decisions 23 1.2.4 Autonomy as Capacity to Choose Validly 24 1.3 Respect for Autonomy 24 1.4 Competence 26 1.5 Biopolitics 28 1.6 Conclusion 32 References 33 2 Enforcing Medical Treatment to Keep a Person Alive: The Problematic Case of Anorexia Nervosa 35 2.1 Introduction 35 2.2 Anorexia Nervosa: An Insight to a Contemporary Drama 35 2.3 The Conceptualization of Anorexia Nervosa by Medicine, the Law and the Sufferers 37 2.4 The Tension Between Competence and Mental Illness in Anorexics 42 2.5 Are We to Enforce Medical Treatment in Cases of Anorexia Nervosa? 45 2.6 The Biopolitical Reasoning for Keeping Anorexics Alive 47 2.7 Conclusion 49 References 50 3 Enforcing Medical Treatment to Kill: The Case of Charles Laverne Singleton 52 3.1 Introduction 52 3.2 The Singleton Case 53 3.3 Prima Facie Problems 53 3.4 Neuroscience, Enforced Treatments and Other Perspectives 55 3.5 Punishment, Insanity and Responsibility 57 3.5.1 The Idea of Punishment 58 3.5.2 The Evolution of the Role of Insanity in Law 60 3.5.3 A Retributivist Argument 61 3.6 Right to Treatment or Duty to Be Treated? 63 3.7 A Further Option 64 3.8 Conclusion 66 References 67 4 Hunger Strikes and Other Controversial Cases 69 4.1 Introduction 69 4.2 The Dax Case 70 4.3 Issues Related to Keeping One's Alive Against His Will 75 4.4 Allowing to Die: The Case of Sami Mbarka Ben Garci 76 4.5 Can We Consider Reliable the Competence of a Hunger Striker? 78 4.6 Further Hunger Strike Cases 81 4.7 A Biopolitical Distinction 83 4.8 Conclusion 85 References 86 5 Guantanamo and Its Specific Biopolitical Charge 88 5.1 Introduction 88 5.2 Declaration of Malta on Hunger Strikes 89 5.3 How Do Hunger Strikes in Guantanamo Bay Differ from Others? 91 5.4 The Role of Doctors and Their Dual Loyalty 94 5.5 Arguments Supporting the Use of Naso-Gastric Treatment in Guantanamo 97 5.6 Arguments Condemning the Use of Naso-Gastric Treatment in Guantanamo 99 5.7 Hippocratic Oath or Political Agenda? A Biopolitical Analysis of the Issue 101 5.8 Conclusion 102 References 103 6 Conclusion 105 Bibliography 111 This volume presents a number of controversial cases of enforced medical treatment from around the globe, providing for the first time a common, biopolitcal℗lframework for all of them. Bringing together all these real cases guarantees that a new, more complete understanding of the topic will be within grasp for readers unacquainted with the aspects involved in these cases. On the one hand, readers interested mainly in the legal and medical dimensions of cases like those considered will benefit from the explanation of the biopolitical framework within which each case develops. On the other hand, those focusing on only one of the situations presented here will find the parallels between the cases an interesting expansion of the complexity of the problem. Despite the book's ambitious goal, for those willing to use it as supplemental material or interested in only one of the cases, the chapters can function as self-standing pieces to be read separately. This volume will be a valuable tool for both academics and professionals. Bioethicists in both the analytic and continental traditions, will find the book interesting for not only the specific concepts and issues considered, but also for its constructive bridging of the two schools of thought. In addition to philosophers, the structure of this work will also appeal to lawyers, doctors, human rights activists, and anyone concerned in the most disparate way with real-life cases of enforced medical treatment This volume presents a number of controversial cases of enforced medical treatment from around the globe, providing for the first time a common, biopolitical framework for all of them. Bringing together all these real cases guarantees that a new, more complete understanding of the topic will be within grasp for readers unacquainted with the aspects involved in these cases. On the one hand, readers interested mainly in the legal and medical dimensions of cases like those considered will benefit from the explanation of the biopolitical framework within which each case develops. On the other hand, those focusing on only one of the situations presented here will find the parallels between the cases an interesting expansion of the complexity of the problem. Despite the book's ambitious goal, for those willing to use it as supplemental material or interested in only one of the cases, the chapters can function as self-standing pieces to be read separately. This volume will be a valuable tool for both academics and professionals. Bioethicists in both the analytic and continental traditions, will find the book interesting for not only the specific concepts and issues considered, but also for its constructive bridging of the two schools of thought. In addition to philosophers, the structure of this work will also appeal to lawyers, doctors, human rights activists, and anyone concerned in the most disparate way with real-life cases of enforced medical treatment Front Matter....Pages i-xvi The Concepts of Autonomy, Competence and Biopolitics....Pages 1-18 Enforcing Medical Treatment to Keep a Person Alive: The Problematic Case of Anorexia Nervosa....Pages 19-35 Enforcing Medical Treatment to Kill: The Case of Charles Laverne Singleton....Pages 37-53 Hunger Strikes and Other Controversial Cases....Pages 55-73 Guantanamo and Its Specific Biopolitical Charge....Pages 75-91 Conclusion....Pages 93-98 Back Matter....Pages 99-100