Moral realities : Mormonism, medicine, and bioethics /

Mormon bioethics is no controversial or pressing topic, perhaps because patients and doctors who self-identify as Mormons seem to quietly accept today's basic secular code, embracing autonomy, regimented research, comfort care for the dying, and abortion under certain circumstances. This book explores in detail the reasons why Mormons rarely challenge this canon, explaining why their acceptance is far from a purely acritical or indolent conformity. Campbell (Oregon State Univ.) argues that this acceptance stems, rather, from a doctrinal position that imbues the contemporary medical numen with theological meaning and subtle conditionalities. In so doing, he summarizes Mormon morality. Although healing remains a pious mystery to Mormons, Campbell explains how they have undergone a moral shift, switching from rejection and providentialism (when empiricist doctors represented an iatrogenic threat) to a welcoming acceptance of safe, positivist craft. Having established that medical practice is not objectionable to Mormons, Campbell explores some controversial issues, e.g., in vitro conception, euthanasia, organ donation, and genetics in the light of Mormon doctrine and LDS ecclesiastical statements. This book can show Mormons the permitted spaces of medicine and what medicine should profoundly signify, informing both medical practice and patient experience. It is not the secular physician's handbook on how to treat the Mormon patient. Summing Up: Recommended. Faculty and professionals. General readers. --Pablo Rodriguez del Pozo, Weill Cornell Medical College