Religious Perspectives on Human Vulnerability in Bioethics

1. Responses to Vulnerable Groups from Six Religions

   1. Jewish Perspective on Vulnerable Groups: The Elderly and the Disabled

      • Jonathan Halevy, Adina Halevy

      Pages 193-202

   2. Jewish Perspective on Vulnerable Groups: Women and Children

      • David Heyd

      Pages 203-214

   3. Lessons Learned

      • Joseph Tham

      Pages 215-224

   4. Appendices

      • Joseph Tham, Alberto Garcia, Gonzalo Miranda

      Pages 225-243

2. Back Matter

   Pages 245-251

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With the advance of biomedicine, certain individuals and groups are vulnerable because of their incapacities to defend themselves. The International Bioethics Committee as a UNESCO working group has for the last several years dedicated to deepen this principle of human vulnerability and personal integrity. This book serves to supplement this effort with a religious perspective given a great number of the world’s population is affiliated with some religious traditions. While there is diversity within each of these traditions, all of them carry in them the mission to protect the weak, the underprivileged, and the poor. Thus, here presented is a collection of papers written by bioethics experts from six major world religions—Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism—who were gathered to discuss the meaning and implications of the principle of vulnerability in their respective traditions.        

• bioethics and vulnerability
• human vulnerability
• religion and bioethics
• religion and biomedicine
• religion and vulnerability
• religious dialogue

From the book reviews:

“This is a compilation of essays from different religious and cultural perspectives regarding human vulnerability in bioethics. … this book is intended for people studying or working in bioethics. It is also suitable for students of comparative religion, public policy, health policy, and other related fields. … This collection of essays is successful in sharing the authentic voices of a diverse group of religious and cultural perspectives.” (Jessica Roach, Doody’s Book Reviews, January, 2015)                 

• Ateneo Pontificio Regina Apostolorum, School of Bioethics, Rome, Italy

  Joseph Tham, Alberto Garcia

• UNESCO Chair in Bioethics and Human Rights, Rome, Italy

  Gonzalo Miranda

            

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