New Books
What makes you think you own your body?
Body
Shopping: The Economy Fuelled by Flesh & Blood
It’s been said that we are witnessing nothing less than a new
Gold Rush, where the territory is the human body. Human eggs are used
in huge numbers for the stem cell technologies—over 2,000 in one
recent case. Roughly one-fifth of all human genes have been patented
by biotechnology companies. Women’s tissue is worth more than men’s,
but both sexes are vulnerable. The fact is, we don’t own our bodies
in law.
Some people may shrug, ‘We live in a consumer society, so what
do you expect?’. Others might reply, ‘Yes, we live in a consumer
society, which will bring us great medical and scientific progress--
if we just leave well enough alone.’ Both responses are far too
simple. Donna has just published a popular science book which will show
why. Written for a general audience, Body Shopping: The
Economy Fuelled by Flesh and Blood aims to bring these important
questions out of commercial secrecy and into public debate.
Listen to Donna Dickenson on Body Shopping >>
Reviews of Donna's book, Body Shopping:-
'Internationally renowned bioethicist Dickenson...alerts readers to
the financial realities of modern medicine. She coins the term "body
shopping" to refer to the phenomenon of human tissue as a multibillion-dollar
commodity bought and sold on international markets; she also explores
the new relationships that people have to their bodies in its wake...
Dickenson offers strategies to rectify the grossest abuses of body shopping
by pointing out regulatory gaps in biotechnology, and she offers hope
in the wake of the globalization of this industry.' Choice (American
Library Association)
‘An alarming and illuminating book. The story of how we have allowed
private
corporations to patent genes, to stockpile human tissue, and in short
to make
profits out of what many people feel ought to be common goods is a shocking
one. No one with any interest at all in medicine and society and how
they
interact should miss this book, and it should be required reading for
every
medical student.’ Philip Pullman
'A thoughtful, intelligent, highly readable work written by someone with impeccable credentials...In the 1960s Rachel Carson's Silent Spring launched the avalanche of the environmental movement. Perhaps Body Shopping will do the same for the body rights campaign.' Fay Weldon, Financial Times
'Dickenson successfully marries anecdote with scientific and legal papers
to make her points clearly and effectively...Body Shopping is essential
reading for those who work in the medical profession. I defy anyone to
read this book with being just a little shocked.'
Ian Anderson, The Lancet
'A timely book, Donna Dickenson's intelligent and disturbing polemic attacks the complacency of doctors and legislators across the political spectrum who see the increasing commoditisation of human tissue - from gene patenting and egg donation to transplant tissue and modern-day grave robbing - as inevitable and irreversible.' The Observer
'If there was any doubt whether the human body is a global commodity, Dickenson ably puts it to rest. The book could not be more timely...Dickenson offers a perspective that is courageous and convincing... Body Shopping is ambitious and thoughtful.' Michelle Goodwin, New Scientist
''Dickenson combines lucid explanations of legal arguments and case studies with a thought-provoking polemicism. Particularly valuable is her emphasis on the under-discussed role of women in technologies such as embryonic stem-cell research.' Steven Poole, The Guardian
'An interesting and thought-provoking examination of the ownership and
growing "consumerisation" of parts of the body from cradle
to grave... Dickenson has woven into the text some interesting stories
at the heart of the ownership debate that give the book wide appeal...Drawing
on interesting historical and feminist perspectives, this book will appeal
to a wide readership that includes medical and law students and those
with an interest in ethics.'
Times Higher Education Supplement
'Body Shopping weaves together sharp policy analysis with stories that will startle even those who follow such matters...It's disturbing reading, but with a hopeful message, perhaps best summarized by a subtitle in the chapter on patenting human genes: 'Resistance is not futile'. Marcy Darnovsky, Center for Genetics and Society
‘Blending shrewd policy analysis with a gift for storytelling,
Donna Dickenson
offers a riveting exposé of the modern marketplace for human body
parts and
a compelling call to action.’Professor Lori
Andrews, law professor,
co-author of Genetics: Ethics, Law and Policy and author of the novel,
The Silent Assassin
‘As a professional working in the field of human reproduction and
medical
education I have a permanent sense of inchoate disquiet about the “business”
of fertility. Dickenson…has crystallised my sense of disquiet
into a firm desire
to resist the “objectification” and “commodification” of
the human body. I
will definitely be sharing it with my students.’ Martin
Lupton, consultant
obstetrician, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London
‘For those of us who believe that the world would be a better place
if our
bodies weren’t strip mined for cash, Dickenson is a voice of wit,
wisdom
and hope. Body Shopping digs deep in its exploration of the true value
of the
human body.’ Professor Françoise Baylis,
Professor and Canada Research
Chair in Bioethics and Philosophy at Dalhousie University
‘Body Shopping distils the key bits of information that other media
sources
invariably omit, and poses the difficult questions that many researchers,
policy-makers and funders don’t want to see asked. Donna Dickenson
enables all of us to begin finding practical answers to the unprecedented
commercialisation of human bodies from BC to AD—before conception
to
after death.’ Sarah Sexton, a Director of
The Corner House, a public interest
group working towards human rights and environmental and social justice.
'Dickenson's analysis goes deep...and raises the under-recognised issue of exploitation. Body Shopping' contains salutary lessons in medical ethics, and demonstrates the frightening speed with which the formerly grotesque can become accepted as the norm. The interested layman, medical or biomedical student will find the book informative and thought-provoking.' Evelyn Harvey, BioNews.org.uk
'Compulsively readable... meticulously researched and informed...This important book is as important to philosophers and lawyers as it is to healthcare givers (and reading it should be made a condition of entry to medical school.)' Healthwatch Newsletter
Property
in the Body: Feminist Perspectives
Donna has also completed a more academic book on a similar subject: Property in the Body: Feminist Perspectives, published in January 2007 by Cambridge University Press.
Review of Donna's book, Property in the Body: Feminist Perspectives:
Donna Dickenson has done a brilliant job of bringing
sophisticated philosophical analysis together with feminist critique
to help us understand the meaning of the ‘body as property’ in the 21st century. Prof.
Dickenson’s book is a gem, of both brilliance and clarity, rare
in its ability to traverse the worlds of feminist theory, philosophy,
ethics, and cultural anthropology in search of deeper understandings
of the liberatory as well as exploitative potential of the concept of
the ‘body as property.’ This work of nuance and complexity
can help us understand the challenges modern biotechnologies bring to
the world of human relationships—in stem cell research, umbilical
cord blood banks, genetic patenting, the ‘harvesting’ of
eggs, and trafficking in kidneys. Dickenson literally travels the world
to such distant places as Tonga to bring us a rethinking of the tired
old dichotomies which have dominated discussions of bodily property. Her
book is a stellar example of how feminist theorizing can illuminate universal
questions about the human condition--for both men and women.
Cynthia Daniels, Associate Professor, Political Science Dept., Rutgers
University, New Brunswick, NJ
Donna’s many articles on property in the body, some available
online through
lib-eprints@bbk.ac.uk, also include:
- ‘Who Owns Embryonic and Fetal Tissue?’ in
Donna Dickenson (ed.), Ethical Issues in Maternal-Fetal Medicine (Cambridge
University Press, 2001)
‘Property and Women’s Alienation from Their Own Reproductive Labour’, Bioethics (2001) vol. 15, pp. 205-217 - ‘Commodification of Human Tissue: Implications for Feminist and Development Ethics,’ Developing World Bioethics (2002) vol. 2, pp. 55-63
- ‘The threatened trade in human ova’, ‘Ethics
Watch’, Nature
Reviews Genetics (2004) vol. 5, p. 86
Consent, Commodification and Benefit-Sharing in Genetic Research’, Developing World Bioethics (2004) vol. 4, pp. 126-141 - ‘The Lady Vanishes: What’s Missing from the Stem Cell Debate,’ Journal of Bioethical Inquiry (2006) vol. 3, pp.43-54