Personal Autonomy
Our Public Discourse
Posted by Sheila Kennedy in Personal Autonomy on August 26th, 2009
The Board of Directors of the American Society for Bioethics has issued a statement responding to accusations about “death panels” that have become a theme of attacks on healthcare reform efforts. The final paragraph of that statement reads as follows:
“The Board of Directors of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities deplore the attempts by opponents [...]
The Idea of Liberty
Posted by Sheila Kennedy in Personal Autonomy on September 29th, 2008
When I was initially asked to speak, I asked if there was a subject you wanted to hear about. I was told “Oh, something about liberty.” As my older grandchildren might say, that seemed pretty specific—NOT.
When I thought about it, though, I decided that the subtext to the assignment was really something like: We [...]
Continue reading...Fear of Fucking
Posted by Sheila Kennedy in Personal Autonomy on August 2nd, 2006
This morning, the Indianapolis Star ran an article suggesting that the FDA might retreat from its insistence that access to “Plan B”—the morning-after pill—be only by prescription. The agency “might” allow women over 18 to purchase it over the counter, despite deep concerns that its ready availability might “encourage promiscuity.”
And I thought the Food and [...]
Continue reading...The Nanny State
Posted by Sheila Kennedy in Personal Autonomy on June 6th, 2000
The powers that be have recently decreed that Indiana motorists can be stopped and ticketed solely for failure to use their seatbelts. Prior to the new rule, a traffic cop who had stopped you for another violation -speeding, or a missing taillight — could issue a secondary citation if he also found you without proper [...]
Continue reading...War on Women
Posted by Sheila Kennedy in Personal Autonomy on May 3rd, 1999
When I was a young woman, I faced gender barriers my granddaughter will never know: job and credit discrimination, exclusion from educational opportunities, and pervasive social attitudes about "proper" roles for women. Today the legal barriers are largely gone, and social expectations have changed dramatically. Women work…
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