- Email: [email protected]
Author index, Volume 24
population growth, distribution, migration and immigration?” “What are the present ethical values and principles of different politicocultural and professional groups within American society that, either manifestly or latently. have a stance toward population?” “What are the systematic ethical problems that population growth, distribution, migration and immigration pose? How can one ethically evaluate potential alternative solutions to problems posed by population?” “What likely legal and political developments between now and the year 2000 might change the ‘ethical equation,’ and how might they change the equation?” Part I: “Population Policy and Values,” discusses in detail the four underlying values judged by the authors to be of most central importance to population issues. namely, Freedom, Justice, The General Welfare, and Security/Survival. Each is set forth in its own chapter, defined, and illustrated in terms of relevance to population issues. Part II: “Population Control: Historical and Legal Traditions,” will be of greatest interest to students of American history and constitutional law. This reviewer found the two chapters of Part II tedious to read yet providing, in their very completeness, a sense of the great mass of historical. philosophical, and legal traditions that forms the foundation for the remainder of the book. Part III: “Perspectives on Ethics and is the most fascinating secPopulation,” tion of the book for individuals who are service providers. This section initially summarizes in four chapters the positions taken by various minority groups such as blacks, Spanish surnamed Americans, and American Indians uis-a-uis population, birth control, and abortion issues. A lengthy chapter outlines the positions on these issues of major religious groups in the United States, including a detailed analysis of the papal encyclical “Humanae Vitae” and the contrasting position taken by the Pope’s Commission on Problems of Population, Family and Birth. Subsequent chapters outline relevant positions of business, labor and welfare groups, the ecology movement, physi-
Journal of Nurse-Midwifery
??
cians, and the particular population geneticists.
perspective
of
Part IV: “Population Policies.” pulls together the various strands developed earlier in the book focusing. in three chapters. on the legal and ethical complications of reducing immigration. on a summary of the arguments for and against abortion, and on an ethical analysis of various population policy proposals. The chapter on abortion arguments is particularly valuable and nearly worth the price of the book in its own right. The section concludes with perhaps the most practical contribution of the whole book, namely, a series of guidelines for evaluating population policy that can easily be applied by any thoughtful person to any proposed policy. The book has one major self-admitted shortcoming in that its entire focus is the American experience. Individuals interested in examining the ethical issues inherent in U.S. provision of family plan ning assistance overseas must seek this elsewhere in later writings of the Research Group on Ethics and Population and by others. What the book does accomplish masterfully is to point out that although a vast amount of demographic, medical. and sociological data exists. the question at issue is how these data should be interpreted in developing policies. Such interpretation is inevitably subjective and depends, to a large extent, on the values of those doing the interpreting. Values, in turn, and their application are the essence of ethics and in few other fields is the necessity for integrating ethical issues with policy making so obvious and so critical. The reader who takes the trouble to digest this book thoughtfully from cover to cover will acquire a thorough grounding in the ethical bases for the critical poll icy decisions that lie ahead in population, birth control. and abortion.
Love and Lace. By Laird Sutton (filmmaker). Copyright 1978 by National Sex Forum. 16 mm, Color, 13 minutes. Reviewed by: May Elizabeth Reeves, M.Ed., Ed.D., Registered Psychologist.
Vol. 24, No. 6, November/December
1979
Cost: Rental: $35.00, $200.00
Purchasing
price:
Available from: Multi Media Resources Center, 1525 Franklin Street. San Francisco, California 94109 Since there is no introductory comment, verbal or printed, and there is no accompanying narrative script, the viewer is left to decide the purpose(s) of the film. Presumably, the purpose is to demanstrate the harmonious interaction of partners during intercourse, and to demonstrate the various possible positions during pregnancy. There is no other content. Technically. the filrn is very disappointing. Although footage of spectacular scenery introduces the film. the photographic sequences are frequently marked by artificiality that definitely detracts from the presentation. During one sequence, the action was shot through a lace curtain, thus giving a “lace pattern” to the body of the female partner. All of the action took place in the back of a truck. The sound track is extremely poor in both musical and spoken phases. The choice of music and instrumentation connotes a nontraditional approach to living, resulting in distraction rather than enhancement of the film. The verbal content is minimal. and adds little to the film. although the female partner does comment briefly on her growing love in the relationship. AIthough the visual content is presented in an objective. clinical manner, some viewers may experience discomfort due to the film’s explicitness. They may also perceive the partners as totally mechanistic in their patterns of stimulation and positioning. The almost continuous movement does not connote the beauty and oneness of love. Therefore in any presentation of this film, it would be essential to allow sufficient time for an adequate introduction indicating the educational objectives to be met and to provide time for postviewing discussion, The film could be utilized at the graduate level as a segment in a series on sexual behaviors. Since nurse-midwives should have thorough knowledge of human sexuality and sex ual behavior, the film could be used to augment other aspects of the educational course work.
45
Journal of Nurse-Midwifery
??
cians, and the particular population geneticists.
perspective
of
Part IV: “Population Policies.” pulls together the various strands developed earlier in the book focusing. in three chapters. on the legal and ethical complications of reducing immigration. on a summary of the arguments for and against abortion, and on an ethical analysis of various population policy proposals. The chapter on abortion arguments is particularly valuable and nearly worth the price of the book in its own right. The section concludes with perhaps the most practical contribution of the whole book, namely, a series of guidelines for evaluating population policy that can easily be applied by any thoughtful person to any proposed policy. The book has one major self-admitted shortcoming in that its entire focus is the American experience. Individuals interested in examining the ethical issues inherent in U.S. provision of family plan ning assistance overseas must seek this elsewhere in later writings of the Research Group on Ethics and Population and by others. What the book does accomplish masterfully is to point out that although a vast amount of demographic, medical. and sociological data exists. the question at issue is how these data should be interpreted in developing policies. Such interpretation is inevitably subjective and depends, to a large extent, on the values of those doing the interpreting. Values, in turn, and their application are the essence of ethics and in few other fields is the necessity for integrating ethical issues with policy making so obvious and so critical. The reader who takes the trouble to digest this book thoughtfully from cover to cover will acquire a thorough grounding in the ethical bases for the critical poll icy decisions that lie ahead in population, birth control. and abortion.
Love and Lace. By Laird Sutton (filmmaker). Copyright 1978 by National Sex Forum. 16 mm, Color, 13 minutes. Reviewed by: May Elizabeth Reeves, M.Ed., Ed.D., Registered Psychologist.
Vol. 24, No. 6, November/December
1979
Cost: Rental: $35.00, $200.00
Purchasing
price:
Available from: Multi Media Resources Center, 1525 Franklin Street. San Francisco, California 94109 Since there is no introductory comment, verbal or printed, and there is no accompanying narrative script, the viewer is left to decide the purpose(s) of the film. Presumably, the purpose is to demanstrate the harmonious interaction of partners during intercourse, and to demonstrate the various possible positions during pregnancy. There is no other content. Technically. the filrn is very disappointing. Although footage of spectacular scenery introduces the film. the photographic sequences are frequently marked by artificiality that definitely detracts from the presentation. During one sequence, the action was shot through a lace curtain, thus giving a “lace pattern” to the body of the female partner. All of the action took place in the back of a truck. The sound track is extremely poor in both musical and spoken phases. The choice of music and instrumentation connotes a nontraditional approach to living, resulting in distraction rather than enhancement of the film. The verbal content is minimal. and adds little to the film. although the female partner does comment briefly on her growing love in the relationship. AIthough the visual content is presented in an objective. clinical manner, some viewers may experience discomfort due to the film’s explicitness. They may also perceive the partners as totally mechanistic in their patterns of stimulation and positioning. The almost continuous movement does not connote the beauty and oneness of love. Therefore in any presentation of this film, it would be essential to allow sufficient time for an adequate introduction indicating the educational objectives to be met and to provide time for postviewing discussion, The film could be utilized at the graduate level as a segment in a series on sexual behaviors. Since nurse-midwives should have thorough knowledge of human sexuality and sex ual behavior, the film could be used to augment other aspects of the educational course work.
45