Converging Concerns: Feminist Bioethics, Development Theory, and Human Rights

Abstract

Like feminist scholarship generally feminist bioethics has been continually remaking itself as new issues emerge and conceptual shortcomings surface. This article has sprung from my growing realization of a limitation in feminist bioethics which was prompted by the chance remark of a newcomer to the field who at a recent conference of the Feminist Bioethics Network expressed her surprise that so few speakers had mentioned the human rights movement. Initially puzzled I reflected on the networks mission statement particularly its emphasis on the development of a more inclusive theory of bioethics encompassing the stand-points and experiences of women and other marginalized social groups on the examination of the dominant bioethical discourse that privileges those already empowered and on the creation of new methodologies and strategies that are responsive to the disparate conditions of womens lives across the globe. (excerpt)