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DRUG FACTS, VALUES, AND THE MORNING-AFTER PILL

ChoGlueck, Christopher (2021) DRUG FACTS, VALUES, AND THE MORNING-AFTER PILL. Public Affairs Quarterly, 35 (1). pp. 51-82.

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Abstract

While the Value-Free Ideal of science has suffered compelling criticism, some advocates like Gregor Betz continue to argue that science policy advisors should avoid value judgments by hedging their hypotheses. This approach depends on a mistaken understanding of the relations between facts and values in regulatory science. My case study involves the morning-after pill Plan B and the “Drug Fact” that it “may” prevent implantation. I analyze the operative values, which I call zygote-centrism, responsible for this hedged drug label. Then, I explain my twofold account of value-ladenness, involving the constitutive role of value judgments in science and the social function of facts as political tools. Because this drug fact is ineliminably value-laden in both senses, I conclude that hedged hypotheses are not necessarily value-free.


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Item Type: Published Article or Volume
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
ChoGlueck, Christopherchistopher.choglueck@nmt.edu0000-0002-6095-2105
Keywords: values in science; hedged hypothesis; morning-after pill; emergency contraception; science policy; evidence-based policy; abortion; contraception; facts
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Medicine > Biomedical Ethics
General Issues > Ethical Issues
General Issues > Feminist Approaches
General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science
General Issues > Rhetoric of Science
General Issues > Science and Religion
General Issues > Science and Society
General Issues > Science and Policy
General Issues > Values In Science
Depositing User: Dr. Christopher ChoGlueck
Date Deposited: 13 Jun 2022 02:40
Last Modified: 13 Jun 2022 02:40
Item ID: 20725
Journal or Publication Title: Public Affairs Quarterly
Official URL: https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/paq/...
DOI or Unique Handle: https://doi.org/10.2307/27009635
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Medicine > Biomedical Ethics
General Issues > Ethical Issues
General Issues > Feminist Approaches
General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science
General Issues > Rhetoric of Science
General Issues > Science and Religion
General Issues > Science and Society
General Issues > Science and Policy
General Issues > Values In Science
Date: January 2021
Page Range: pp. 51-82
Volume: 35
Number: 1
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/20725

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