Bioethics has become a sclerotic liberal political movement that, as I explain in Culture of Death: The Age of Do Harm Medicine, aspires to establish the moral and ethical standards that govern not only healthcare, but society generally.
The Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal is one of the premier professional journals in the field. It has now issued a call for papers to mull the oncoming dark ages brought in by the election of Donald Trump:
The Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal will be publishing a special volume on ethical and social issues arising out of the 2016 US presidential election and the transition to the Trump administration. Papers will be anonymously reviewed and judged according to the scholarly standards typical for the journal, without regard to political orientation.
Creativity in form and approach is encouraged. Among other topics, contributions may explore ethical and social questions concerning:
- The election and campaign, including campaign propaganda, voter enfranchisement, districting and the electoral college, voter demographics and divisions, ‘filter bubbles’ and media access, etc.
- The ethical limits and possibilities for protest, resistance, and managing conflict in a divided nation, including questions surrounding the proper place of violence, if any.
- The rise of nationalist, white supremacist, and Islamophobic rhetoric and activism during this election season.
- Public allegations of sexual assault, and the politicization of those allegations.
- The rise of the ‘forgotten white working class’ in reality and in rhetoric.
- What to expect from a Trump administration, including explorations of his particular proposals (on immigration, Muslim registries, abortion, and so forth).
Hmmm. Notice there is no request for an analysis of the electoral and ethics of society impact caused by a former Secretary of State engaging in blatant moral turpitude in high office.
But that’s how bioethicists roll. Unless a practitioner has a modifier like “conservative” or “Catholic” in front of the term “bioethicist,” you are generally safe betting he or she is a political progressive in ethicists’ clothing.
By the way, the KIEJ has published papers by some of the world’s most prominent bioethicists arguing that the unborn, infants, and people with severe cognitive disabilities are not “persons,” and hence, can be killed for their organs or used as mere natural resources in medical experimentation.
And yet, Trump is supposed to be beyond the pale!