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Santa Monica College *
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121
Subject
Philosophy
Date
Jan 9, 2024
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3
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Materializing Concepts: Biodefection
In the reading “Informed Refusal: Toward a Justice-based Bioethics” by Ruha Benjamin
the author highlights, the term biodefection. It is defined as individuals who chose to resist
technoscientific conscription and have a distrust toward scientific experts. In everyday life, this
can be seen with the use of blood bags, which are used to give patients blood in a hospital
setting. Blood bags can be seen to be related to biodefection since blood bags are used in both
science and health care fields, at the same time not everyone believes in their use and ultimately
refuse treatment. When analyzing a person's refusal, Ruha Benjamin uses an example of
conscious refusal and biodefectors in her writing. According to the author, rejection denotes self-
determination by establishing a boundary where study participants can choose whether or not to
engage and when to cease. The author's study includes not just human subjects and patients, but
also the broader public, or third-hand refusals, in which people speak out in favor of those who
face serious consequences for refusing, such as being deported. Certain groups, such as the
Jehovah’s Witness, do not believe in receiving blood, because it is against the will of God.
In cases of a medical emergency, a physician might request for a patient to have a blood
transfusion. However, as mentioned previously, not everyone might choose to get a blood
transfer, because it goes against their spiritual beliefs. The religion and beliefs of Jehovah's
Witnesses are respected, and many adhere to them fervently due to the numerous repercussions
that they may suffer. Some of the penalties that Jehovah's Witnesses believe they will face
include a loss of spiritual purpose, a strained connection with God, and expulsion from their
congregation. As the author of “Informed Refusal: Toward a Justice-based Bioethics”
mentions
that a person might be having a distrust toward science due to “trust in something other than an
experimental method” (Benjamin 973).
This mistrust in science can be very harmful and oftentimes lead to a person’s death.
Biodefection can progress from a single person's reluctance to be treated to a full-fledged theory
held by a group of people. The Jehovah's Witnesses' collective thought that God is against blood
transfers is a sort of biodefection that is inflicting more harm than good. For example, if a person
within the Jehovah witness community were to get into a serious accident, a blood bag in this
scenario would be ineffective. Since people in this religion carry the proper paper to inform the
physician of refusal toward a blood transfusion, a medical professional has to agree with their
choices. In this case, a doctor might use alternative methods, which might not always be strong
enough for a patient who might desperately a blood transfusion. This is a difficult situation
because it is distressing to witness death when there are life-saving techniques available but the
patient refuses to receive them.
In conclusion, blood bags can be very useful to help a patient who is in need of a blood
transfer, however, due to either cultural or religious reasons a person might refuse to have
treatment from a blood transfusion. In the course reading titled, “Informed Refusal: Toward a
Justice-based Bioethics” the author, Ruha Benjamin, mentions that in circumstances where
marginalized people resist what she calls "technoscientific conscription," the author examined
the politics of biological citizenship (Benjamin 967). These 'biodefectors,' according to Ruha
Benjamin, oppose the grounds on which institutions try to claim and determine the political,
social, and economic value of their biological facts. In the case involving a Jehovah’s Witness, a
physician must make an ethical decision and refuse to give their patient blood, no matter what
consequences it may have on the patient.
Works Cited
1.
Benjamin, Ruha. 2016. “Informed Refusal. Toward a Justice-based Bioethics.
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