Poverty, Principlism in Bioethics, and Katrina

Most of us in the field of bioethics are familiar with the four principles oft used in bioethics: Autonomy, Beneficence, Nonmaleficence, and Justice (aka known as the "Georgetown Mantra") -- out of those four principles, Justice (some of us prefer to call it Equity) is too often given short shrift because it's not "sexy" or a headline grabber, as Jon Moreno points out in his article in the American Journal of Bioethics. So, it is inspires hope in me when someone like the NY Times' David Brooks points out that the devastation of Hurricane Katrina affords us an opportunity to do something serious about urban poverty -- his suggested rules when rebuilding: Nothing Like Before and Culturally Integrate. It is a chance to bridge the ever-growing gap between the haves and have-nots; to reiterate Brooks, let's not blow it.