Taking Sides Health and Society : Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Health and Society

by Daniel, Eileen L.

• ISBN13: 9780072953305
• ISBN10: 0072953306
• Edition: 6th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-11-24
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin

Summary

Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Health and Society, 6th edition, is a debate-style reader designed to introduce students to controversies in health science and personal health. The readings, which represent the arguments of leading health care professionals, policymakers, and social commentators, reflect a variety of viewpoints and have been selected for their liveliness and substance and because of their value in a debate framework. For each issue, the editor provides a concise introduction and postscript summary. The introduction sets the stage for the debate as it is argued in the "yes" and "no" readings, and the postscript briefly reviews the opposing views and suggests additional readings on the controversial issue under discussion. By requiring students to analyze opposing viewpoints and reach considered judgments, Taking Sides actively develops students' critical thinking skills. It is this development of critical thinking skills that is the ultimate purpose of each of the volumes in the widely acclaimed Taking Sides program. Book jacket.

Table of Contents

Preface	i
Introduction: Dimensions and Approaches to the Study of Health and Society	xi
PART 1 THE HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY	1	(68)
Will Managed Care Improve Health Care in the United States?	2	(18)
``Cost-Conscious Care,'' Reason (June 1996)	4	(6)
David Jacobsen
``The Doctor Is Not In: On the Managed Failure of Managed Health Care,'' Harper's Magazine (March 1998)	10	(10)
Ronald J. Glasser
Should Health Care for the Elderly Be Rationed?	20	(16)
``The Rationing Debate: Rationing Health Care by Age: The Case For,'' British Medical Journal (March 15, 1997)	22	(5)
Alan Williams
``Age-Based Rationing of Healthcare,'' Generations (Winter 1996--1997)	27	(9)
Patricia Lanoie Blanchette
Does Employer-Based Health Insurance Provide Adequate Coverage for Most Americans?	36	(12)
``Why We Should Keep the Employment-Based Health Insurance System,'' Health Affairs (November/December 1999)	38	(5)
William S. Custer
Charles N. Kahn III
Thomas F. Wildsmith IV
``Employer-Based Health Insurance: A Balance Sheet,'' Health Affairs (November/December 1999)	43	(5)
Uwe E. Reinhardt
Is the Pharmaceutical Industry Responsible for the High Cost of Prescription Drugs?	48	(21)
``Prescription for Trouble: Why Drug Prices Keep Exploding,'' Commonweal (June 15, 2001)	50	(7)
Christopher F. Koller
``Goddamn the Pusher Man,'' Reason (April 2001)	57	(12)
Ronald Bailey
PART 2 HEALTH AND SOCIETY	69	(96)
Is Drug Testing Vital to the Workplace?	70	(20)
``Cut Costs and Increase Safety With Pre-Employment Drug Testing,'' Occupational Hazards (July 2002)	72	(4)
William F. Current
``Urine---Or You're Out,'' Reason (November 2002)	76	(14)
Jacob Sullum
Should Doctors Ever Help Terminally III Patients to Commit Suicide?	90	(12)
``The Case For Physician-Assisted Suicide,'' Free Inquiry (Spring 2003)	92	(4)
Richard T. Hull
``The Case Against Physician-Assisted Suicide,'' Free Inquiry (Spring 2003)	96	(6)
Margaret Somerville
Should the Government Regulate the Sale, Advertisement, and Distribution of Junk Food?	102	(26)
``Halting the Obesity Epidemic: A Public Health Policy Approach,'' Public Health Reports (January/February 2000)	104	(16)
Marion Nestle
Michael F. Jacobson
``Heavy Duty,'' The New Republic (May 13, 2002)	120	(8)
Michelle Cottle
Should Race Play a Role in the Treatment and Study of Disease?	128	(20)
``The Importance of Race and Ethnic Background in Biomedical Research and Clinical Practice,'' The New England Journal of Medicine (March 20, 2003)	130	(9)
Esteban Gonzalez Burchard
``Race and Genomics,'' The New England Journal of Medicine (March 20, 2003)	139	(9)
Richard S. Cooper
Jay S. Kaufman
Ryk Ward
Should Human Cloning Ever Be Permitted?	148	(17)
``Human Cloning and the Challenge of Regulation,'' The New England Journal of Medicine (July 9, 1998)	150	(6)
John A. Robertson
``Why We Should Ban Human Cloning,'' The New England Journal of Medicine (July 9, 1998)	156	(9)
George J. Annas
PART 3 MIND/BODY RELATIONSHIP	165	(50)
Should Addiction to Drugs Be Labeled a Brain Disease?	166	(24)
``Addiction Is a Brain Disease,'' Issues in Science and Technology (Spring 2001)	168	(8)
Alan I. Leshner
``The Fallacies of No-Fault Addiction,'' The Public Interest (Winter 1999)	176	(14)
Sally L. Satel
Is Stress Responsible for Disease?	190	(12)
Yes: Editors of Harvard Health Letter, from ``Can Stress Make You Sick?'' Harvard Health Letter (April 1998)	192	(4)
``The Use and Abuse of Stress,'' The Weekly Standard (June 2, 1997)	196	(6)
Christopher Caldwell
Can Spirituality Overcome Illness?	202	(13)
Timeless Healing: The Power and Biology of Belief (Scribner, 1996)	204	(5)
Herbert Benson
Marg Stark
``Prayer and Healing,'' Truth Seeker (vol. 122, no. 2, 1995)	209	(6)
William B. Lindley
PART 4 SEXUALITY AND GENDER ISSUES	215	(32)
Does Abortion Increase the Risk of Breast Cancer?	216	(12)
Yes: American Association of ProLife Obstetricians and Gynecologists, from ``AAPLOG Statement on Induced Abortion and the Subsequent Risk of Breast Cancer,'' Issues in Law and Medicine (2002)	218	(4)
``Abortion and Breast Cancer: A Forged Link,'' The Humanist (March/April 2002)	222	(6)
Joyce Arthur
Does Health Care Delivery and Research Benefit Men at the Expense of Women?	228	(19)
``Women Are Different,'' Self (July 1997)	230	(9)
Gayle Feldman
``Sick Sisters: How Feminist Politics Is Warping Medicine,'' The American Enterprise (April/May 2001)	239	(8)
Sally L. Satel
PART 5 PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUES	247	(62)
Is Gun Control a Public Health Issue?	248	(16)
``Reverse Fire,'' Mother Jones (January/February 1994)	250	(3)
Josh Sugarmann
``Public Health Pot Shots: How the CDC Succumbed to the Gun `Epidemic,''' Reason (April 1997)	253	(11)
Don B. Kates
Henry E. Schaffer
William C. Waters IV
Should Parents Be Allowed to Opt Out of Vaccinating Their Children?	264	(12)
``Should Parents Be Allowed to Opt Out of Vaccinating Their Kids? Yes,'' Insight on the News (April 24, 2000)	266	(4)
Barbara Loe Fisher
``Should Parents Be Allowed to Opt Out of Vaccinating Their Kids? No,'' Insight on the News (April 24, 2000)	270	(6)
Steven P. Shelov
Does Anabolic Steroid Use Cause Serious Health Problems for Athletes?	276	(16)
``Steroids: Youth at Risk,'' The Harvard Mental Health Letter (May 2001)	278	(3)
Steven Ungerleider
``Pumped-Up Hysteria,'' Reason (January 2003)	281	(11)
Dayn Perry
Is Marijuana Dangerous and Addictive?	292	(17)
``Should Marijuana Be Legalized as a Medicine? No, It's Dangerous and Addictive,'' The World & I (June 1994)	294	(5)
Eric A. Voth
``Reefer Madness 1997: The New Bag of Scare Tactics,'' Rolling Stone (February 20, 1997)	299	(10)
Ethan A. Nadelmann
PART 6 CONSUMER HEALTH	309	(61)
Does Multiple-Chemical Sensitivity Pose a Serious Health Threat?	310	(18)
``Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: Understanding Causative Factors,'' Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients (January 2001)	312	(7)
Paul Yanick, Jr.
``MCS: Mis-Concern Serious,'' Priorities for Health (vol. 11, no. 1, 1999)	319	(9)
Stephen Barrett
Is the Atkins Low-Carbohydrate Diet a Valid Weight-Loss Plan?	328	(30)
``What If It's All Been a Big Fat Lie?'' The New York Times Magazine (July 7, 2002)	330	(15)
Gary Taubes
``Big Fat Fake: The Atkins Diet Controversy and the Sorry State of Science Journalism,'' Reason (March 2003)	345	(13)
Michael Fumento
Should Alternative Medicine Be Combined With Conventional Medicine?	358	(12)
``Is Integrative Medicine the Medicine of the Future?'' A Debate Between Arnold S. Relman, MD, and Andrew Weil, MD, Archives of Internal Medicine (October 11, 1999)	360	(4)
Andrew Weil
``Is Integrative Medicine the Medicine of the Future?'' A Debate Between Arnold S. Relman, MD, and Andrew Weil, MD, Archives of Internal Medicine (October 11, 1999)	364	(6)
Arnold S. Relman
Contributors	370	(5)
Index	375