Deadly Monopolies
The Shocking Corporate Takeover of Life Itself--And the Consequences for Your Health and Our Medical Future.
Harriet A. Washington
- From
- the
- award-winning
- author
- of
- Medical
- Apartheid,
- an
- exposé
- of
- the
- rush
- to
- own
- and
- exploit
- the
- raw
- materials
- of
- life—including
- yours.Think
- your
- body
- is
- your
- own
- to
- control
- and
- dispose
- of
- as
- you
- wish?
- Think
- again.
- The
- United
- States
- Patent
- Office
- has
- granted
- at
- least
- 40,000
- patents
- on
- genes
- controlling
- the
- most
- basic
- processes
- of
- human
- life,
- and
- more
- are
- pending.
- If
- you
- undergo
- surgery
- in
- many
- hospitals
- you
- must
- sign
- away
- ownership
- rights
- to
- your
- excised
- tissues,
- even
- if
- they
- turn
- out
- to
- have
- medical
- and
- fiscal
- value.
- Life
- itself
- is
- rapidly
- becoming
- a
- wholly
- owned
- subsidiary
- of
- the
- medical-
- industrial
- complex.Deadly
- Monopolies
- is
- a
- powerful,
- disturbing,
- and
- deeply
- researched
- book
- that
- illuminates
- this
- “life
- patent”
- gold
- rush
- and
- its
- harmful,
- and
- even
- lethal,
- consequences
- for
- public
- health.
- It
- examines
- the
- shaky
- legal,
- ethical,
- and
- social
- bases
- for
- Big
- Pharma’s
- argument
- that
- such
- patents
- are
- necessary
- to
- protect
- their
- investments
- in
- new
- drugs
- and
- treatments,
- arguing
- that
- they
- instead
- stifle
- the
- research,
- competition,
- and
- innovation
- that
- can
- drive
- down
- costs
- and
- save
- lives.
- In
- opposing
- the
- commodification
- of
- the
- body,
- Harriet
- Washington
- provides
- a
- crucial
- human
- dimension
- to
- an
- often
- all-too-abstract
- debate.Like
- the
- bestseller
- The
- Immortal
- Life
- of
- Henrietta
- Lacks,
- Deadly
- Monopolies
- reveals
- in
- shocking
- detail
- just
- how
- far
- the
- profit
- motive
- has
- encroached
- in
- colonizing
- human
- life
- and
- compromising
- medical
- ethics.
- It
- is
- sure
- to
- stir
- debate—and
- instigate change.
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