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Speaking Volumes: The Encyclopedia of Bioethics and Racism
Author(s) -
Galarneau Charlene,
Smith Patrick T.
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
hastings center report
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.515
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1552-146X
pISSN - 0093-0334
DOI - 10.1002/hast.1371
Subject(s) - bioethics , racism , encyclopedia , sociology , framing (construction) , environmental ethics , gender studies , law , political science , philosophy , history , archaeology
This essay takes as its starting point the claim that addressing anti‐Black racism is essential to the work of bioethics in the United States. The essay examines whether and how racism has been addressed in the field's central reference work, the Encyclopedia of Bioethics , throughout its four editions—in 1978, 1995, 2004, and 2014. With consideration of each edition's stated purpose and editorial framing, we find that the subject of racism is obscured by the Encyclopedia 's inattention to African American approaches to bioethics, to racism as a bioethics issue, and specifically, to racism as a matter of justice. This essay suggests questions for guiding reflection necessary for giving racism its due in the field of bioethics.