Good Bioethicist Must Be a Feminist

Three years ago when I had graduated with a bachelor's in Biology, I worried that I don't know what I'll be to be. But in early 2019, I tried to enroll in my master's in Bioethics.

 I just wondered that I chose this subject. I started to study Bioethics without expectation to wannabe. I was struggled and forced myself to love this subject because this is my choice. My friends as physicians also know a lot of things about this major and the topics within. I kept doing learning to read, review, presentation many papers. 

I remember that in the first year, I got a task to discuss black market organ donors and how to as a bioethicist should tell the decision making. On the other hand, the other issue that we learned about is the ethical dilemma of abortion: pro-life or pro-choice? If this kind was an anomaly, bioethicists would already be feminists.

Unfortunately, it is not an anomaly and bioethicist is not a feminist. Abortion still proceeds without any reference to women's concerns. Still continue this topic, the new modern technology of medicine was beginning to burst upon the scene in 1978 named IVF (In Vitro Fertilization), the successful live birth from IVF was announced in England. 

Bioethicists point out this issue use utilitarian arguments stressing the good of reproductive technology in offering infertile couples an opportunity to be biological parents. However, this technology may be contributing to women's continuing oppression because it suggests that now women can, women should fulfill their destiny as biological mothers.

Even though feminists are concerned about reproductive technology and want to raise the consciousness of women about these issues, but they are not opposed to the development of technology because those technological advances also offer women more choices in their own life.  

I was just wondering why most of us banned abortion? Recent feminist work on this issue. I'll tell you about a little sign of a feminist version of me. Feminism is not a singular ideology and there are two major streams of 'woman-centered': feminine and feminist. Feminine refers to a search for women's unique voice and advocates for an ethic of care. 

Nevertheless, feminism refers to an argument against male domination and advocate for equal rights. Both of them seek to validate women's moral experiences, understand women's oppression, and how to eliminate gender inequality. In early 2020, I just researched about LGBT and spirituality even I don't have any experience before in this topic, but I believe that I did my best. 

As a feminist and bioethicist, I was asked many questions in my mind, about power, domination, and subordination, the question of care and justice, even maternal and paternal thinking. But by the way, now, I am doing my research about maternal autonomy and stunting from the perspective of women's decision-making in the household. 

In this feminist position, I also committed to eliminating the subordination of women and any other oppressed persons. Because I am interested in patterns of oppression, extend to other patterns of domination and subordination such as racism and classism. So, the focus on women and oppression is what makes an ethics feminist. 

I realized that the aim of being a feminist bioethicist is to create a gender-equal ethic that is based on nonsexist moral principles.