Duty and Healing

Benjamin Freedman was a Professor of Medicine and Philosophy in the Biomedical Ethics Unit at McGill University. He wrote extensively on bioethics and was most recently co-editor of Contemporary Health CareEthics in Canada (1995). He died in 1997. Charles Weijer is Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Office for Bioethics Education and Research at Dalhousie University.

"The book is well written and stands on its own merits. The use of real clinical cases, especially, makes for a fascinating interplay between theory and practice throughout. . . Freedman certainly fulfilled his objective of showing how "Religion [in his case, Judaism] can provide a fuller understanding, by placing the questions raised within a global and even cosmic context.' " --David Novak, University of Toronto (ONT).""The late Benjamin Freedman's Duty and Healing adds to hisremarkable legacy and reminds us just how much we willmiss his distinctive voice in bioethics. Laying thefoundations for a Jewish approach to bioethics, andillustrating his arguments with numerous case studies,Freedman shows how a model of duty offers a distinctiveand illuminating perspective on ethics consultations,family decisions, informed consent, determinations ofcompetence, and judgments about risk. I stronglyrecommend this book." -- James F. Childress, KyleProfessor of Religious Studies & Professor of MedicalEducation; Co-Director, Virginia Health Policy CenterUniversity of Virginia"While Freedman's analysis is built solidly on Jewish principles, the resulting practical and theoretical construct reaches out beyond the confines of Judaism and embraces readers who do not necessarily share the author's religious ties. Freedman strongly believed that Judaism and other religious traditions provide a perspective missing, yet badly needed, in current bioethical discussion. His vision of a bioethics based on duties is one that will have broad appeal to those who have become increasingly uncomfortable with a bioethics based on a regime of rights." -- -Theodore Fleischer Perspectives in Biology and Medicine

• EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION: Charles Weijer INTRODUCTION: Goals and Framework PROLOGUE: Duty and Clinical Ethics Consultations from a Jewish Viewpoint SECTION 1. FAMILY: The Role of the Family in Medical Decision Making for Incompetent Persons SECTION 2. CONSENT: The Reasonable Caretaker and the Obligation to Consent SECTION 3. COMPETENCY: Jewish Sources and the General Theory of Competency SECTION 4. RISK: Principles of Judgement in Health Care Decisions AFTERWORD: Next Steps in Healing and Duty