title: Bioethics as ideology: conditional and unconditional values.
abstract: For all its apparent debate bioethical discourse is in fact very narrow. The discussion that occurs is typically within limited parameters, rarely fundamental. Nor does it accommodate divergent perspectives with ease. The reason lies in its ideology and the political and economic perspectives that ideology promotes. Here the ideology of bioethics' fundamental axioms is critiqued as arbitrary and exclusive rather than necessary and inclusive. The result unpacks the ideological and political underpinnings of bioethical thinking and suggests new avenues for a broader debate over fundamentals, and a different approach to bioethical debate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography, Medical, University of British Columbia, 1984 West Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 2Z1, Canada. tomkoch@shaw.ca
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koch
mesh_terms: D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D026822:Ethicists / Q000523:psychology*; D005053:Eugenics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010686:Philosophy, Medical; D012945:Social Values; D013244:Sterilization, Involuntary / Q000941:ethics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D014481:United States; D026712:Value of Life