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Review
. 2007 May;21(4):230-41.
doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8519.2007.00547.x.

Health, justice, and the environment

David B Resnik  1 , Gerard Roman
Affiliations
Review

Health, justice, and the environment

David B Resnik et al. Bioethics. 2007 May.

Abstract

In this article, we argue that the scope of bioethical debate concerning justice in health should expand beyond the topic of access to health care and cover such issues as occupational hazards, safe housing, air pollution, water quality, food and drug safety, pest control, public health, childhood nutrition, disaster preparedness, literacy, and many other environmental factors that can cause differences in health. Since society does not have sufficient resources to address all of these environmental factors at one time, it is important to set priorities for bioethical theorizing and policy formation. Two considerations should be used to set these priorities: (1) the impact of the environmental factor on health inequality, and (2) the practicality of addressing the factor.

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References

    1. Many of the choices like those described in these scenarios within the purview of an area of public policy, research, and scholarship known as environmental justice, which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines as: ‘fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental regulations and policies.’ Environmental Protection Agency. [Accessed 22 March 2005];Environmental Justice. Available at: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/environmentaljustice/index.html.. Although many people have begun to think clearly and carefully about the relationship between justice and the environment, these discussions have had little impact on the field of bioethics. For further discussion of environmental justice, see Shrader-Frechette K. Environmental Justice. New York: Oxford University Press; 2002.

    1. Robert J, Smith A. Toxic Ethics: Environmental Genomics and the Health of Populations. Bioethics. 2004;18:493–514.; and Fiore R, Fleming L. Occupational and Environmental Health: Toward an Environmentally Inclusive Bioethics. Prof Ethics. 2003;11:63–80.

    1. This article will use a broad definition of ‘bioethics’ as simply ‘the study of ethical and social issues in biology and medicine’. Bioethicists may belong to a variety of different disciplines, including philosophy, law, theology, religion, ethics, political science, medicine, public health, social science, and natural science.

    1. For further discussion of these points, see Carter-Pokras O, Baquet C. What is a Health Disparity? Pub Health Rep. 2002;117:426–334.; Kawchi I, Subramanian S, Almeida-Filho N. A Glossary of Health Inequalities. J Epid Comm Health. 2002;56:647–652.

    1. National Cancer Center. [Accessed 22 March 2005];Cancer health disparities fact sheet. Available at: http://www.nci.nih.gov/newscenter/healthdisparities.

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