Feminism and Bioethics

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Abstract
About Feminism The class of people who consider themselves feminists is large and diverse, representing a broad range of different opinions and perspectives. Despite this rich multiplicity of views, it is possible to identify some common themes. Generally, feminists share a recognition that women are oppressed in our society and an understanding that their oppression takes many different forms, compounded often by other forms of oppression based on features such as race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and economic class. Because feminists believe that oppression is objectionable on both moral and political grounds, most are committed to transforming society in ways that will ensure the elimination of oppression in all its forms. Much of the harm of sexism is obvious and thus can be readily challenged. For example, the evidence is overwhelming that women are disproportionately subjected to domestic violence and sexual assault, resulting in undeniable physical and psychological damage to many women and a sense of insecurity and vulnerability in all women. In addition, the economic disadvantage women experience in the work place, where their average earnings are less than two-thirds of the average wages paid to men, is widely condemned as unjust. Further, the predominance of men, especially white, middle-class men, in positions of influence in virtually all segments of society (legal, political, financial, cultural, and military) is inescapable.

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