{"product_id":"what-it-means-to-be-human-the-case-for-the-body-in-public-bioethics","title":"What It Means to Be Human: The Case for the Body in Public Bioethics","description":"\u003cp\u003eOne of the Wall Street Journals Top Ten Books of the Year  A leading expert on public bioethics advocates for a new conception of human identity in American law and policy.  The natural limits of the human body make us vulnerable and therefore dependent  throughout our lives  on others. Yet American law and policy disregard these stubborn facts  with statutes and judicial decisions that presume people to be autonomous  defined by their capacity to choose. As legal scholar O. Carter Snead points out  this individualistic ideology captures important truths about human freedom  but it also means that we have no obligations to each other unless we actively  voluntarily embrace them. Under such circumstances  the neediest must rely on charitable care. When it is not forthcoming  law and policy cannot adequately respond.  What It Means to Be Human makes the case for a new paradigm  one that better represents the gifts and challenges of being human. Inspired by the insights of Alasdair MacIntyre and Charles Taylor  Snead proposes a vision of human identity and flourishing that supports those who are profoundly vulnerable and dependentchildren  the disabled  and the elderly. To show how such a vision would affect law and policy  he addresses three complex issues in bioethics: abortion  assisted reproductive technology  and end-of-life decisions. Avoiding typical dichotomies of conservative-versus-liberal and secular-versus-religious  Snead recasts debates over these issues and situates them within his framework of embodiment and dependence. He concludes that  if the law is built on premises that reflect the fully lived reality of life  it will provide support for the vulnerable  including the unborn  mothers  families  and those nearing the end of their lives. In this way  he argues  policy can ensure that people have the care they need in order to thrive.  In this provocative and consequential book  Snead rethinks how the law represents human experiences so that it might govern more wisely  justly  and humanely.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44963350151221,"sku":"ByrdShop_0674987721","price":63.31,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780674987722.jpg?v=1770412880","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/what-it-means-to-be-human-the-case-for-the-body-in-public-bioethics","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}