Volume 6, No. 2

Book Review

Frameworks of Choice: Predictive and genetic testing in Asia

Margaret Sleeboom-Faulkner (ed.)

Amsterdam University Press 2010

Carla van El

Abstract

This edited volume offers a rich collection of case studies on predictive and genetic testing in Asia. Referring to the growing body of bio-ethical scholarship in Asian countries, editor Margaret Sleeboom-Faulkner argues that this book makes a case for a social science approach. This, she suggests, would allow for a better understanding of the context and implications of new genetic technologies and would put bioethical reasoning into perspective. For the theoretical analysis of the findings some key concepts are introduced, such as frameworks of choice, which draws attention to the circumstances and socio-economic background delimiting and conditioning the choices of individuals, families and communities. How people deal with their choices in the light of their experiences and their ways of coping with disease is referred to as ramifications of choice.

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