Editorial: Principles and Process : Lessons from Winter
Culture is “the first voice of the sacred” and the ethical and cultural principles of participation, protection and partnership contained in the Treaty of Waitangi provide a rich backdrop for the healer’s art when integrated into best practice.
HIV-AIDS – Understanding the Power of Stigma
In this article Dr. Michael McCabe looks at the origins and nature of stigma. Stigmatisation arises from a place deep within us – it involves the labelling of a person or group of persons as being unworthy of inclusion in the human community. Those with HIV-AIDS have been subject to isolation, blame and prejudice. As Christians, the ministry of Jesus is highly instructive in shaping a pastoral response to the stigmatised.
Reflecting on Prenatal Detecting
The technology associated with prenatal testing is redefining the knowledge frameworks that shape our attitudes to, and experiences of, pregnancy and childbirth. Society has developed certain “unwritten rules” about how parents should respond to the information generated by prenatal testing. Just as we have been debating what it means to “die with dignity” so, writes John Kleinsman, we also need to reflect on what it means to be “conceived in dignity”.
Confronting the Distortions: Mothers of Children with Down Syndrome and Prenatal Testing
Dr. Lisa Bridle, mother of Sean who has Down syndrome, has interviewed seventeen mothers of children with Down syndrome about how they experience the ethical and personal choices associated with prenatal testing. Drawing on the findings of her own research, Dr. Bridle illustrates how the perspective of mothers of children with Down syndrome disrupts many of the assumptions which underpin prenatal testing.