M B Mahowald. Oxford University Press, 2000, US$39.95 (hb), pp 314. ISBN 0–19–512110–4

• Mahowald MB. Genes
• Women
• Equality

Far too often it is still assumed that if feminist bioethics has any role to play, its contribution lies purely in reproductive ethics. Mary Mahowald's Genes, Women, Equality should dispel that delusion once and for all, along with a second illusion: that the new genetics is gender-neutral.

Mahowald is not a bioethical Luddite: she is not concerned to attack the new genetics, but to make good the failure of bioethicists and scientists to explore the differential impact of the new genetics on women. Specific implications for women of advances in genetics in different fields form the bulk of the book, with chapters on genetic counselling; genetics research; allocation of genetic services; culture and sex selection; misattributed paternity and cystic fibrosis; sickle cell disease and carrier testing; breast cancer susceptibility testing; preimplantation genetic diagnosis and abortion; genomic alternation; genetically linked alcoholism, employment and insurance testing, and human cloning. …