Bioethics as Practice

“Perhaps the best contribution to understanding the work of bioethics and bioethicists to date. Andre shows us frontline bioethics. . . . An enormous contribution. . . . A snapshot of a field at the crossroads of a Hamlet-like adolescence.”—Mark Kuczewski, Hastings Center Report

“By presenting bioethics as a practice with meaningful internal goods and seductive external goods (e.g., money, status, prestige), Judith Andre has courageously and honestly excavated some of the deepest psychic and organizational labyrinths through which bioethicists roam. Written in a narrative style and spiced with scores of personal interviews, Andre’s brilliant book is destined to provoke passion at discussions among bioethicists, health care professionals, and concerned citizens. The field of bioethics owes Andre many thanks for writing a book that accurately describes bioethics as it is experienced in the lives of bioethicists.”—Rosemarie Tong, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

“Andre makes a persuasive case for bioethics as a new line of work—virtue ethics in practice. The book’s strong suit stems from the author’s inclusion of moral as well as intellectual growth among the principal aims of bioethics. An original contribution to a maturing field.”—Ronald A. Carson, University of Texas Medical Branch

“What do bioethicists do all day? Judy Andre answers this question with passion and brilliance in Bioethics as Practice. Andre’s careful and insightful discussion of the field of bioethics—its routines, hazards, and rewards—places bioethics in larger social and political focus. Everyone even remotely interested in the ethical issues of medicine and the life sciences should read this book. It is the benchmark for future work in the field.”—Larry R. Churchill, Vanderbilt University