Justice and Health Care (Philosophy and Medicine, 8)

Bioethics is a discipline still not fully explored in spite of its rather remark­ able expansion and sophistication during the past two decades. The prolifer­ ation of courses in bioethics at educational institutions of every description gives testimony to an intense academic interest in its concerns. The media have catapulted the dilemmas of bioethics out of the laboratory and library into public view arid discussion with a steady report of the so-called 'mira­ cles of modern medicine' and the moral perplexities which frequently accom­ pany them. The published work of philosophers, theologians, lawyers and others represents a substantial and growing body of literature which explores relevant concepts and issues. Commitments have been made by existing in­ stitutions, and new institutions have been chartered to further the discussion of the strategic moral concerns that attend recent scientific and medical progress. This volume focuses attention on one of the numerous topics of interest within bioethics. Specifically, an examination is made of the implications of the principle of justice for health care. Apart from four essays in Ethics and Health Policy edited by Robert Veatch and Roy Branson [4] the dis­ cussion of justice and health care has been occasional, almost non-existent, and scattered. The paucity of literature in this area is regrettable but perhaps understandable. On the one hand, Joseph Fletcher, one of the contemporary pioneers in bioethics, can hold that "distributive justice is the core or key question for biomedical ethics" ([1], p. 102). Bioethics is a discipline still not fully explored in spite of its rather remarkƯ able expansion and sophistication during the past two decades. The proliferƯ ation of courses in bioethics at educational institutions of every description gives testimony to an intense academic interest in its concerns. The media have catapulted the dilemmas of bioethics out of the laboratory and library into public view arid discussion with a steady report of the so-called 'miraƯ cles of modern medicine' and the moral perplexities which frequently accomƯ pany them. The published work of philosophers, theologians, lawyers and others represents a substantial and growing body of literature which explores relevant concepts and issues. Commitments have been made by existing inƯ stitutions, and new institutions have been chartered to further the discussion of the strategic moral concerns that attend recent scientific and medical progress. This volume focuses attention on one of the numerous topics of interest within bioethics. Specifically, an examination is made of the implications of the principle of justice for health care. Apart from four essays in Ethics and Health Policy edited by Robert Veatch and Roy Branson [4] the disƯ cussion of justice and health care has been occasional, almost non-existent, and scattered. The paucity of literature in this area is regrettable but perhaps understandable. On the one hand, Joseph Fletcher, one of the contemporary pioneers in bioethics, can hold that "distributive justice is the core or key question for biomedical ethics" ([1], p. 102) Front Matter....Pages i-xiv Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Justice: A Philosophical Review....Pages 3-21 Justice and Rights: A Study in Relationship....Pages 23-35 Justice and Health Care: A Theological Review....Pages 37-50 Justice and Health Care: Historical Perspectives and Precedents....Pages 51-71 Front Matter....Pages 73-73 Do Justice, Love Mercy: The in Appropriateness of the Concept of Justice Applied to Bedside Decisions....Pages 75-82 Justice and Prenatal Life....Pages 83-94 Justice and the Defective Newborn....Pages 95-107 Justice and the Dying....Pages 109-117 Front Matter....Pages 119-119 Health Care Allocations: Responses to the Unjust, the Unfortunate, and the Undesirable....Pages 121-137 Priorities in the Allocation of Health Care Resources....Pages 139-150 Health Care for the Haves and Have Nots: Toward a Just Basis of Distribution....Pages 151-159 Cost Containment and Justice....Pages 161-178 Justice and Human Research....Pages 179-191 Justice and the Claims of Future Generations....Pages 193-211 Justice: A Moral Test for Health Care and Health Policy....Pages 213-229 Back Matter....Pages 233-238