ABSTRACT
Sociology and anthropology are often disqualified from bioethical debates because they are considered insufficiently humanistic by the philosophers and theologians and too unscientific by the physicians and biologists. This chapter offers two examples for anthropology of bioethics: research on stem cells and on diagnostic testing during pregnancy. The social sciences have been less interested in the actual practice of bioethics, in either the clinical or public policy arenas. The notion of medical ethics is sometimes used to refer only to the standards of conduct, and the associated values, which should ideally govern the relationship between biomedical practitioners and their patients. Social scientists take an empirical approach to the question of what is and is not universal about bioethics. The chapter concludes from the example of Renée Fox's critique of the Pittsburgh protocol that there is a special social science vantage point on bioethical issues that justifies the move from analysis to advocacy.
