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27Justice Back and Forth: Duties to the Past and Future, written by Richard VernonJournal of Moral Philosophy 16 (3): 371-374. 2019.
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27Human Reproduction: Principles, Practices, PoliciesOxford University Press. 1993.Who owns frozen human embryos? Are "surrogate motherhood" arrangements dangerous for women? Should access to in vitro fertilization be limited or increased? With the development of complex reproductive technologies and the ensuing controversies in reproductive ethics, there is an urgent need for more careful examination of moral principles, current practices, and social policies pertaining to reproduction. The issues examined in this collection of nine papers focusing of the Canadian experience …Read more
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26Concepts of Life Span and Life-Stages: Implications for EthicsCanadian Journal of Philosophy 32 (sup1): 298-318. 2002.
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26Surrogate MotherhoodCanadian Journal of Philosophy 17 (sup1): 285-305. 1987.This paper will explore some moral and conceptual aspects of the practice of surrogate motherhood. Although I put forward a number of criticisms of existing ideas about this subject, I do not claim to offer a fully developed position. Instead what I have tried to do is to call into question what seem to be some generally accepted assumptions about surrogate motherhood, and to lend plausibility to my view that surrogate motherhood may be morally troubling for reasons not always fully recognized b…Read more
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25Miracles as Evidence Against the Existence of GodSouthern Journal of Philosophy 23 (3): 347-353. 2010.
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25Innovation and Injustice: Commentary on ‘I’m Not a Guinea Pig’Teaching Philosophy 9 (4): 354-358. 1986.
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21Mysticism, Phenomenalism, and W. T. StaceTransactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society 18 (2). 1982.
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18Selective Termination of Pregnancy and Women's Reproductive AutonomyHastings Center Report 20 (3): 6-11. 1990.The “demand” for selective termination of pregnancy is a socially constructed response to prior medical interventions in women's reproductive processes, themselves dependent on cultural views of infertility.
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18Critical Notice of "The Rejected Body" (review)Canadian Journal of Philosophy 28 (3): 435-452. 1998.
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17Heterosexuality and Feminist TheoryCanadian Journal of Philosophy 20 (1): 1-17. 1990.Heterosexuality, which I define as a romantic and sexual orientation toward persons not of one's own sex, is apparently a very general, though not entirely universal, characteristic of the human condition. In fact, it is so ubiquitous a part of human interactions and relations as to be almost invisible, and so natural-seeming as to appear unquestionable. Indeed, the 1970 edition of The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘heterosexual’ as ‘pertaining to or characterized by the normal relat…Read more
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15Miracles as Evidence Against the Existence of GodIn Robert A. Larmer (ed.), Questions of Miracle, Carleton University Press. pp. 132-139. 1996.
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15Old Age and Ageism, Impairment and Ableism: Exploring the Conceptual and Material ConnectionsNational Women’s Studies Association Journal 18 (1): 207-217. 2006.Much can be learned about (old) age-identity and age-related oppression by noting their similarities to, respectively, impairment and ableism. Drawing upon the work of Shelley Tremain, I show that old age, like impairment, is not a biological given but is socially constructed, both conceptually and materially. I also describe the striking similarities and connections between ableism and ageism as systems of oppression. That disability and aging both rest upon a biological given is a fiction that…Read more
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15Biological Mothers and the Disposition of Fetuses After AbortionIn James Humber & Robert Almeder (eds.), Bioethics and the Fetus, Humana Press. pp. 39--57. 1991.
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15A Feminist I: Reflections From AcademiaBroadview Press. 1998.Our universities are the locus of ongoing debates over the politics of gender, of class, of disadvantage and disability—and over the issue of “political correctness.” In _A Feminist I_ Christine Overall offers wide-ranging reflections from a first-person point of view on these issues, and on the politics of the modern university itself. In doing so she continually returns to underlying epistemological concerns. What are our assumptions about the ways in which knowledge is constructed? To what de…Read more
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13Unanswered PrayersIn Russell Blackford & Udo Schüklenk (eds.), 50 Voices of Disbelief, Wiley‐blackwell. 2009-09-10.This chapter contains sections titled: Notes.
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12Thinking Like a Woman: Personal Life and Political IdeasSumach Press. 2001.ago that thinking (along with speaking and acting) “like a woman” was taken as a matter of shame and weakness. The phrase remains an insult to any man who is accused of being “like a woman” in any respect. But the only reason the phrase ...
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12Feminist Perspectives: Philosophical Essays on Method and Morals (edited book)University of Toronto Press. 1988.
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11The role of careGlobal Bioethics 33 (1): 38-40. 2022.“The Role of Care” is a commentary on “Towards a Feminist Global Ethics,” by Rosemarie Tong.
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11The Future of Human Reproduction (edited book)Women's Press. 1989.Reproductive technology has become virtually synonymous with new reproductive choices for women. We are led to believe these technological practices will primarily enable women to conceive and bear the children they previously could not. The presentation of this as fact urges us to support the advancement of reproductive technology so that future techniques may be perfected. The Future of Human Reproduction critically assesses the social, moral, legal, and political impact of reproductive techno…Read more
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9Life Span Extension: Metaphysical Basis and Ethical OutcomesIn Julian Savulescu, Ruud ter Meulen & Guy Kahane (eds.), Enhancing Human Capacities, Blackwell. pp. 386. 2011.Any inquiry into the meaning and implications of the prolongation of the human lifespan requires an investigation of its metaphysical basis and its ethical outcomes. This chapter explains a series of metaphysical and ethical claims about lifespan extension. It highlights a number of arguments that are typically put forward against these claims, and shows the ways in which they are mistaken. Two such claims given in the chapter are: (1) aging and life stages are neither wholly constituted by biol…Read more
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9Perspectives on AIDS: Ethical and Social Issues (edited book)Oxford University Press. 1991.Aimed at undergraduate courses dealing with contemporary and/or sexual ethics, this collection of essays examines the culture and context of AIDS, as well as specific ethical and social issues. Topics include HIV testing and confidentiality, ethics and religion, and individual rights.
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8Critical Notice of The Rejected Body: Feminist Philosophical Reflections on Disability (review)Canadian Journal of Philosophy 28 (3): 435-452. 1998.
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7Dying in Public: Living with Metastatic Breast CancerMichael Grass House. 2012.As a university professor, an environmentalist, and a world-traveller, Sue Hendler was thriving. Then she was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. She had to give up her job, make hard decisions about medical treatment, and drastically shorten her vision of the future. As her cancer spread, she ironically acquired a new identity as a cancer "survivor." Compelled to find meaning in her "new normal" of life with a fatal disease, she decided to write for a wider audience. In Dying in Public: Li…Read more
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7‘From Here to Eternity’: Is It Good to Live Forever?In David Benatar (ed.), Life, Death, and Meaning: Key Philosophical Readings on the Big Questions, 2nd edition, Rowman & Littlefield. 2010.
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6Indirect Indoctrination, Internalized Religion, and Parental ResponsibilityIn Peter Caws & Stefani Jones (eds.), Religious Upbringing and the Costs of Freedom: Personal and Philosophical Essays, Pennsylvania State University Press. pp. 11-26. 2010.
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Areas of Specialization
Applied Ethics |
Philosophy of Religion |
Social and Political Philosophy |
Areas of Interest
Animal Ethics |
Reproductive Ethics |
Aging |
Death and Dying |