Surgically Shaping Children: Technology, Ethics, and the Pursuit of Normality - Hardcover

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Erik Parens is a senior research scholar at The Hastings Center, a visiting professor in the Science, Technology, and Society Program at Sarah Lawrence College, and the coeditor of Wrestling with Behavioral Genetics: Science, Ethics, and Public Conversation (Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 2005). He is also editor of Enhancing Human Traits: Ethical and Social Implications (Georgetown Univ. Press, 1998) and Prenatal Testing and Disability Rights (Georgetown Univ.Press, 2000).

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Honorable Mention, Association of American Publishers’ Professional and Scholarly Publishing Awards in Clinical Medicine

This volume explores the ethical and social issues raised by the recent proliferation of surgeries designed to make children born with physical differences look more normal. Using three cases—surgeries to eliminate craniofacial abnormalities such as cleft lip and palate, surgeries to correct ambiguous genitalia, and surgeries to lengthen the limbs of children born with dwarfism—the contributors consider the tensions parents experience when making such life-altering decisions on behalf of, or with, their children.

"Notably, the contributors are parents, adults born with these conditions, clinicians, and ethicists. As such,Surgically Shaping Children provides a unique multidisciplinary examination of the issues raised."—JAMA

"This compilation of essays edited by Erik Parens is vitally important... Provides an amazing wealth of practical advice... All the chapters are well written and engaging... Parents facing grueling decisions about surgical interventions for their children will find great solace in this book."— New England Journal of Medicine

"An important book for the questions it puts forth."— Medical Humanities Review

Erik Parens is a senior research scholar at The Hastings Center, a visiting professor in the Science, Technology, and Society Program at Sarah Lawrence College, and the coeditor ofWrestling with Behavioral Genetics: Science, Ethics, and Public Conversation, also published by Johns Hopkins. He is also editor ofEnhancing Human Traits: Ethical and Social Implications and Prenatal Testing and Disability Rights.