Diagnosis: Difference: The Moral Authority of Medicine

How is justice in the delivery of health care influenced by the culture of medicine? In a groundbreaking new work of feminist bioethics, Abby L. Wilkerson examines the cultural status of the medical establishment. Challenging traditional views, she shows that morality in health care has a far-reaching impact on social justice.

Situating her analysis in the context of the AIDS and women's health movements, Wilkerson explores continuing patterns of injustice in medicine, the function of health care as social control, and the unequal risk of illness and injury among different social groups. She assesses the role of medicine and bioethics in the sexual oppression of women and of gay and bisexual men, and defines the forces undermining the role of bioethics in monitoring the moral status of health care.

What changes would make bioethicists more responsive to the needs of oppressed groups? Wilkerson's book points the way toward a better understanding of medical authority and brings a fresh perspective to health activism, demonstrating that a feminist and sexually inclusive analysis has much to offer in revealing the hidden cultural politics of medicine.