TAKING SIDES: Clashing Views in Health and Society, Eighth Edition
UNIT 1 The Health Care Industry
Issue 1. Should Purchasing Health Insurance Be Mandatory? New! YES: Ronald Bailey, from "Mandatory Health Insurance Now!" Reason (November 2004) New! NO: Michael Tanner, from "The Slippery Slope to National Health Care" USA Today Magazine (July 2006)
Science correspondent Ronald Bailey believes that mandatory health insurance offers a means to keep our private system, expand consumer choice, reduce costs, and allow medical progress to continue. Writer Michael Tanner argues that forcing people to buy health insurance would take away their right to live free of government regulations. It would also be very expensive, impractical, and unenforceable.
Issue 2. Should Life Sustaining Medical Care Be Rationed Based on Age? YES: Clare M. Clarke, from "Rationing Scarce Life-Sustaining Resources on the Basis of Age," Journal of Advanced Nursing (May 22, 2001) NO: Norman G. Levinsky, from "Can We Afford Medical Care for Alice C?" Lancet (December 5, 1998)
Clare M. Clark believes that rationing health care in old age has some merit and that the treatment of young people should be a priority. Norman G. Levinsky, a practicing physician, argues that health care should not be rationed by age and that age bias should be recognized and confronted.
Issue 3. Is Medical Debt a Major Contributor to Personal Bankruptcy? New! YES: David U. Himmelstein, Elizabeth Warren, Deborah Thorne, and Steffie Woolhandler, from "Discounting the Debtors Will Not Make Medical Bankruptcy Disappear," Health Affairs (February 28, 2006) New! NO: David Dranove and Michael L. Millenson, from "Medical Bankruptcy: Myth Versus Fact," Health Affairs (February 28, 2006)
Himmelstein et al. maintain that the data from bankruptcy courts are valid and that at least half of the mainly middle-class families who declare bankruptcy do so because of medical bills related to illness. Dranove and Millenson dispute the data presented by Himmelstein et al. and maintain that just 17 percent of personal bankruptcies are linked to medical bills and that those affected are not middle class and tend to be closer to the poverty level.
Issue 4. Is the Pharmaceutical Industry Responsible for the High Cost of Prescription Drugs? YES: Christopher F. Koller, from "Prescription for Trouble: Why Drug Prices Keep Exploding," Commonweal (June 15, 2001) New! NO: Peter W. Huber, from "Of Pills and Profits: In Defense of Big Pharma," Commentary (July/August 2006)
Christopher F. Koller, CEO of Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island, a health plan serving Medicaid enrollees based in Providence, believes that the pharmaceutical industry has achieved its rapid growth by political protection and by exploiting the vulnerabilities of patients. Senior fellow of the Manhattan Institute Peter Huber looks at the criticisms against the pharmaceutical industry in the United States and argues that the pharmaceutical industry serves a valuable function and will likely find cures for major diseases. UNIT 2 Health and Society
Issue 5. Is Drug Testing Vital to the Workplace? YES: William F. Current, from "Cut Costs and Increase Safety with Pre-Employment Drug Testing," Occupational Hazards (July 2002) NO: Jacob Sullum, from "Urine--or You're Out: Drug Testing Is Invasive, Insulting, and Generally Irrelevant to Job Performance. Why Do So Many Companies Insist on It?" Reason (November 2002)
William F. Current, president of WFC & Associates, a national consulting firm specializing in drug-free workplace policies believes that pre-employment drug testing is accepted, hassle-free, and beneficial to employers. Jacob Sullum, senior editor of Reason Magazine, argues that employment-based drug testing ins insulting to employees and mostly irrelevant to future job performance.
Issue 6. Should Doctors Ever Help Terminally Ill Patients to Commit Suicide? YES: Richard T. Hull, from "The Case For Physician-Assisted Suicide," Free Inquiry (Spring 2003) NO: Margaret Somerville, from "The Case Against Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide," Free Inquiry (Spring 2003)
Richard T. Hull professor emeritus of philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo, asserts physician-assisted suicide is the only resource terminally ill patients have with which to communicate that end-of-life care is inadequate. Margaret Somerville, Gale Professor of Law and Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the McGill University in Montreal, Canada, argues that two basic reasons to oppose euthanasia include the sanctity of human life and the harms and risks to individuals and to society outweigh any possible benefits.
Issue 7. Should the Government Regulate the Sale, Advertisement, and Distribution of Junk Food? YES: Marion Nestle and Michael F. Jacobson, from "Halting the Obesity Epidemic: A Public Health Policy Approach," Public Health Reports (January/February 2000) NO: Michelle Cottle, from "Heavy Duty," The New Republic (May 13, 2002)
Professor of nutrition, Dr. Marion Nestle, and Dr. Michael Jacobson, executive director of Center for Science in the Public Interest, believe that the government should be substantially involved in the regulation of nonnutritious foods. Writer Michelle Cottle argues that nonnutritious food should not be regulated any more than other unhealthy products and that our relationships to food are too complex for the government to oversee.
Issue 8. Should Race Play a Role in the Treatment and Study of Disease? YES: Esteban Gonzalez Burchard et al., from "The Importance of Race and Ethnic Background in Biomedical Research and Clinical Practice," New England Journal of Medicine (March 20, 2003) NO: Richard S. Cooper Jay S. Kaufman, and Ryk Ward, from "Race and Genomics," New England Journal of Medicine (March 20, 2003)
Physician Esteban Gonzalez Burchard and colleagues contend that race should play a role in the treatment and study of disease since there is evidence that the risk of common diseases is determined by race-related genes. Medical researchers Richard Cooper, Jay Kaufman, and Ryk Ward argue that the potential for abuse is a reason to disregard race in genetic and medical studies and that there is little evidence that the risk of most diseases is linked to race-linked genes.
Issue 9. Should Embryonic Stem Cell Research Be Permitted? YES: Jeffrey Hart, from "NR on Stem Cells: The Magazine is Wrong," National Review (April 19, 2004) NO: Ramesh Ponnuru, from "NR on Stem Cells: The Magazine is Right," National Review (April 19, 2004)
Professor Jeffrey Harts contends there are many benefits to stem cell research and that a ban on funded cloning research is unjustified. Writer Remesh Ponnuru argues that a single-celled human embryo is a living organism that directs its own development and should not be used for experimentation. UNIT 3 Mind/Body Relationship
Issue 10. Should Addiction to Drugs Be Labeled a Brain Disease? YES: Alan I. Leshner, from "Addiction Is a Brain Disease," Issues in Science and Technology (Spring 2001)NO: Sally L. Satel, from "The Fallacies of No-Fault Addiction," The Public Interest (Winter 1999)
Alan I. Leshner, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health, believe that addiction to drugs and alcohol is not a behavioral condition but a treatable disease. Psychiatrist Sally L. Satel counters that labeling addiction a chronic and relapsing brain disease is propaganda and that most addicts are the instigators of their own addiction.
Issue 11. Do Religion and Prayer Benefit Health? New! YES: Gregg Easterbrook, from "Is Religion Good for Your Health?" The New Republic (July 19 & 26, 1999) New! NO: Michael Shermer, from "Prayer and Healing: The Verdict Is in and the Results Are Null,” Skeptic (vol. 12, no. 3, 2006)
Writer Gregg Easterbrook believes men and women who practice in any of the mainstream faiths enjoy better health and that lack of religious involvement does have a negative effect on morality. Author Michael Shermer contends that intercessory prayer offered by strangers on the health and recovery of patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery is ineffective. He also addresses flaws in studies showing a relationship between prayer and health. UNIT 4 Sexuality and Gender Issues
Issue 12. Is It Necessary for Pregnant Women to Completely Abstain from All Alcoholic Beverages? New! YES: Phyllida Brown, from "Drinking for Two," New Scientist (July 1, 2006) New! NO: Julia Moskin, from "The Weighty Responsibility of Drinking for Two," The New York Times (November 29, 2006)
Science writer Phyllida Brown maintains that even a small amount of alcohol can damage a developing fetus and cites new research indicating that even small amounts of alcohol consumed during pregnancy may be harmful. Journalist Julia Moskin argues that there are almost no studies on the effects of moderate drinking during pregnancy and that small amounts of alcohol are unlikely to have much effect.
Issue 13. Should Pro-Life Health Providers Be Allowed to Deny Prescriptions on the Basis of Conscience? New! YES: John A. Menges, from "Public Hearing on HB4346 Before the House State Government Administration Committee," Illinois House State Government Administration Committee (February 15, 2006) New! NO: R. Alta Charo, from "The Celestial Fire of Conscience—Refusing to Deliver Medical Care," New England Journal of Medicine (June 16, 2005)
Pharmacist John Menges believes that it is his right to refuse to dispense any medication designed to end a human life. Attorney R. Alta Charo argues that health care professionals who protect themselves from the moral consequences of their actions may do so at their patients' risk. UNIT 5 Public Health Issues
Issue 14. Should Parents Be Allowed to Opt Out of Vaccinating Their Children? YES: Barbara Loe Fisher, from "Children at Risk for Adverse Reactions Should Be Given a Pass Without Penalty," Insight on the News (April 24, 2000) NO: Steven P. Shelov, from "That Would Open the Door for Epidemics for Some Deadly Childhood," Insight on the News (April 24, 2000)
Barbara Loe Fisher, coauthor of DPT: A Shot in the Dark, and cofounder and president of the nonprofit National Vaccine Information Center, counters that parents should have the right to make informed, voluntary decisions about vaccination and the government should not have the right to force the issue. Pediatrician Steven Shelov believes it would be malpractice and poor public health philosophy and practice to consider not immunizing children against infectious diseases.
Issue 15. Does Anabolic Steroid Use Cause Serious Health Problems for Athletes? New! YES: Glenn Cook, from "Steroids: Shortcut to Tragedy," American School Board Journal (August 2004) NO: Dayn Perry, from "Pumped-Up Hysteria: Forget the Hype, Steroids Aren’t Wrecking Professional Baseball," Reason (January 2003)
Editor Glenn Cook asserts that anabolic steroids are dangerous to the health of athletes and should not be used. Freelance writer Dayn Perry argues that the health risks of anabolic steroids are greatly exaggerated and that they pose limited harm to athletes.
Issue 16. Will Global Warming Negatively Impact Human Health? New! YES: Carl Bloice and Conn Hallinan, from "Global Warming," California Nurse (December 2005) New! NO: Thomas Gale Moore, from "Global Warming Could Improve Health," Consumers' Research (September 1998)
Bloice and Hallinan maintain that rising global temperatures will increase mosquito-borne diseases, asthma, and heat stroke. Senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University Thomas Gale Moore argues that living standards, not rising global temperatures, are responsible for increased illnesses and deaths. UNIT 6 Consumer Health
Issue 17. Is it Safe to Consume Genetically Engineered Foods? New! YES: Henry I. Miller and Gregory Conko, from "Scary Food," Policy Review (June/July 2006) New! NO: Mark Schapiro, from "Sowing Disaster," The Nation (October 28, 2002)
Authors Henry I. Miller and Gregory Conko defend biotechnology used in genetically modifying crops and foods and believe they bring many advantages. Reporter Mark Schapiro argues that the impact of genetically engineered products include the emergence of potential allergens that could trigger reactions in humans, the rising resistance of pests to the Bt toxin, and the crossing of new genes into wild relatives.
Issue 18. Does Obesity Cause a Decline in Life Expectancy? New! YES: Samuel H. Preston, from "Deadweight?," New England Journal of Medicine (March 17, 2005) New! NO: W. Wayt Gibbs, from "Obesity: An Overblown Epidemic," Scientific American (June 2005)
Samuel H. Preston maintains that obesity negatively affects a person's longevity and has become a major public health problem for Americans. Writer W. Wayt Gibbs disagrees and claims that the health consequences of obesity are not as dire as some health officials claim.
