Description
Book SynopsisDoctors routinely deny patients access to hormonal birth control prescription refills, and this issue has broad interest for feminism, biomedical ethics, and applied ethics generally. Medical Sexism argues that such practices violate a variety of legal and moral standards, including informed consent, medical malpractice, and human rights. Why are such violations so common, systemic, and persistent? Jill B. Delston examines a range of possible explanations and makes the case for medical sexism as a major underlying cause. Building on this conceptual foundation, the author then considers other common abuses in the medical field, such as abortion access policy, labor and delivery treatment, misdiagnosing strokes, and underestimating pain. Many argue that we can override patient autonomy in reproductive health cases due to the fetus. However, the case of contraception includes the same attitudes, behaviors, and practices even in the absence of a fetus. Delston argues that sexism is a bette
Trade ReviewMedical Sexism: Contraception Access, Reproductive Medicine, and Health Care argues that medical sexism is rampant, not only in reproductive health care, but health care more generally. Beginning with the case of mandatory Pap tests and pelvic exams for birth control prescriptions, Jill Delston documents the ways that medical professionals mistreat and infantilize women and violate their autonomy due to sexism. Her meticulously researched, carefully argued, and well-written book is an outstanding original contribution to medical ethics and to feminist thought. In addition to students and scholars in those fields, Professor Delston’s book should be required reading for anyone entering the field of health care as well as medical policy makers. -- Ann Cudd, University of Pittsburgh
Table of ContentsDedication: For Eleanor and Beatrix Acknowledgements Introduction: Paternalism, Pap Tests, and the Pill Chapter 1: Doctors Denying Drugs: The Role of Physicians in Contraception Access and Why It Matters Chapter 2: Contraception Care Corrupted: Negative Health Outcomes of Limited Access to Birth Control Chapter 3: In Conceivable Care: A Case of Medical Malpractice Chapter 4: Pre Conceived Notions: Some Ethical Considerations in Denying Patients Needed Care Chapter 5: Fertile Ground for Bias: Medical Sexism Explains the Practice Chapter 6: A Typical Treatment: Abortion Chapter 7: The Two-Body Problem: Medical Sexism in Reproductive Health Chapter 8: Losing Patients: Broader Implications for Medical Sexism Chapter 9: Grace Period: Solutions and Conclusions Bibliography About the Author
