Genetic Breakthroughs and the Limits of Medicine: Short Stature, Growth Hormone, and the Idea of Dysfunction

Authors

Peter H. Schwartz, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital

First Page

965

Document Type

Article

Abstract

This article reviews arguments that have been presented for the use of growth hormone in some children without growth hormone deficiency. Some of these arguments, this article will claim, utilize confused ideas of dysfunction, and this has led to weak arguments that rely on poor data. Clarifying the concept of dysfunction produces clearer arguments that do not depend on such questionable empirical claims. This analysis aims to serve as a case study of how the careful definition and application of ideas can aid in evaluating the proper purview of medicine. The discussion of future genetic breakthroughs and the powers they convey must use these notions with similar care.

Recommended Citation

Peter H. Schwartz, Genetic Breakthroughs and the Limits of Medicine: Short Stature, Growth Hormone, and the Idea of Dysfunction, 13 St. Thomas L. Rev. 965 (2001).
Available at: https://scholarship.stu.edu/stlr/vol13/iss4/16