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Bioethical Developments in India: 1989–1991

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Bioethics Yearbook

Part of the book series: Bioethics Yearbook ((BIYB,volume 2))

Abstract

India is a vast country with a huge population, having 16 percent of the world’s population packed in 2.4 percent of the global area. In 1991 the population of India was recorded as 843.9 million ([3], pp.1–5). The other demographic data ([2], pp. 36–71;([10], pp. 71–89) relevant to bioethical considerations are: birth rate 30.5 per 1000, death rate 10.2 per 1000, life expectancy at birth 59 years, infant mortality rate 91 per 1000, under five mortality rate 142 per 1000, and literacy 52.1 percent. Such rapid growth in the population puts a tremendous pressure on the resources needed to meet basic needs, such as food, housing, education and health. Rapid growth is associated with a high mortality at all age groups, a high cost of living, and low income levels (the per capita annual income being only 340 U.S. dollars). It is not surprising, therefore, that in bioethical decisions, the sanctity of life is deemed less important than the quality of life. This sort of judgment poses many ethical dilemmas for the people, which in practice are resolved in the context of cultural traditions interacting with socioeconomic considerations.

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Authors
  1. Ishwar C. Verma
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Editor information

B. Andrew Lustig (Senior Editor)Baruch A. Brody (Director)H. Tristram Engelhardt Jr. Laurence B. Mccullough

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© 1992 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Verma, I.C. (1992). Bioethical Developments in India: 1989–1991. In: Lustig, B.A., Brody, B.A., Engelhardt, H.T., Mccullough, L.B. (eds) Bioethics Yearbook. Bioethics Yearbook, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-2846-9_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-2846-9_12

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-5264-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-2846-9

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