A Republican Egalitarian Approach to Bioethics: The Case of the Unrecognized Bedouin Villages in Israel. (October 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Filc, Dani; Davidovich, Nadav; Gottlieb, Nora
• Is Part Of: International journal of health services. Volume 46:Number 4(2016:Oct.)
• Page Start: 734
• Page End: 746
• Publication Date: 2016-10
• Subjects: right to health -- bioethics -- republicanism -- inequality -- Bedouins; Medical care -- Periodicals; 362.1
• DOI: 10.1177/0020731415594601
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0020-7314

Abstract

This article argues that current, mainstream, liberal approaches to the right to health and to bioethics are not adequately aware of the structural and political character of health and illness. We propose a radical egalitarian definition of the right to health as the basis for the discussion of a republican egalitarian perspective on bioethics that redefines autonomy and stresses the importance of equality, political participation, and the common good. The violations of the right to health in unrecognized Bedouin villages in Israel are analyzed to exemplify the possibilities opened by the republican egalitarian approach.