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Sustainability

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Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics

Abstract

Various meanings of sustainability point to complex, interlocking challenges for global bioethics. In global bioethics, sustainability can refer to conditions necessary for maintaining particular health-care systems; to economic development, particularly for underserved populations; and to health care that does not damage the natural environment. This entry reviews the historical development of sustainability, the tensions between economic and environmental emphases in sustainability, and the import of sustainability for global bioethics. Sustainability comprises a norm that increasingly informs global bioethics, though the term itself can obscure thorny ethical issues.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Duquesne University, 600 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Darlene Fozard Weaver

Authors
  1. Darlene Fozard Weaver
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Correspondence to Darlene Fozard Weaver .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Healthcare Ethics, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Henk ten Have

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Weaver, D.F. (2016). Sustainability. In: ten Have, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09483-0_413

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