To do no harm : DES and the dilemmas of modern medicine

“Apfel and Fisher raise important questions about the explosion of modern medical technology. They vividly delineate the factors contributing to experimentation with new techniques and drugs and how the pressures experienced by physicians, coupled with their fantasies of heroism, meld with pressures from their patients to tempt them to take risks prematurely . The volume is provocative and effective. It should be read by all who take part in the health care system, patients and their caretakers.” –Carol Nadelson, M.D., __Journal of the American Medical Association__

In this prize-winning book Nathan O. Hatch offers a provocative reassessment of religion and culture in the early days of the American republic, arguing that during this period American Christianity was democratized and common people became powerful actors on the religious scene. Hatch examines five distinct traditions or mass movements that emerged early in the nineteenth century - the Christian movement, Methodism, the Baptist movement, the black churches, and the Mormons - showing how all offered compelling visions of individual potential and collective aspiration to the unschooled and unsophisticated.

Contents 7 Preface 9 Introduction 13 1. The History of DES 23 2. The Historical Context 41 3. An Event in the Human Body 55 4. A Quiet Trauma 71 5. Mothers and Daughters 81 6. Patients and Doctors 97 7. The Doctors'Dilemma 119 8. Final Reflections—What Next? 138 Notes 143 Glossary 165 Bibliography 173 Index 205