Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Charlottesville, Virginia) was an American professor who founded the theory of
situational ethics
Situational ethics or situation ethics takes into account ''only'' the particular context of an act when evaluating it ethically, rather than judging it only according to absolute moral standards. With the intent to have a fair basis for judgment ...
in the 1960s, and was a pioneer in the field of
bioethics
Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, m ...
. Fletcher was a leading academic proponent of the potential benefits of
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...
eugenics
Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior o ...
, and
cloning
Cloning is the process of producing individual organisms with identical or virtually identical DNA, either by natural or artificial means. In nature, some organisms produce clones through asexual reproduction. In the field of biotechnology, c ...
. Ordained as an Episcopal priest, he later identified himself as an atheist.
Life
Fletcher was a prolific academic, teaching, participating in symposia, and completing ten books, and hundreds of articles, book reviews, and translations. He taught ''Christian Ethics'' at
Episcopal Divinity School
The Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) is a theological school in New York City that trains students for service with the Episcopal Church. It is affiliated with the Union Theological Seminary. Students who enroll in the EDS at Union Anglican st ...
,
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...
, and at
Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, gov ...
from 1944 to 1970. He was the first professor of medical ethics at the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
and co-founded the ''Program in Biology and Society'' there. He retired from teaching in 1977.
In 1974, the American Humanist Association named him Humanist of the Year. He was one of the signers of the
Humanist Manifesto
''Humanist Manifesto'' is the title of three manifestos laying out a humanist worldview. They are the original '' Humanist Manifesto'' (1933, often referred to as Humanist Manifesto I), the ''Humanist Manifesto II'' (1973), and ''Humanism and I ...
.
He served as president of the
Euthanasia Society of America
The Euthanasia Society of America was founded in 1938 to promote euthanasia. It was co-founded by Charles Francis Potter and Ann Mitchell. Alice Naumberg (mother of Ruth P. Smith) also helped to found the group.
The group initially supported bo ...
(later renamed the Society for the Right to Die) from 1974 to 1976. He was also a member of the
American Eugenics Society
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
"We need to educate people to the idea that the quality of life is more important than mere length of life. Our cultural tradition holds that life has absolute value, but that is really not good enough anymore. Sometimes, no life is better."
"Ethics critically examines values and how they are to be acted out; but whether they are acted out or not, loyalty to them depends on character or personal quality, and so it follows that the quality of medicine depends on the character of its clinicians."
"We ought to love people and use things; the essence of immorality is to love things and use people."
"People ith_children_with_Down's_syndrome.html" ;"title="Down's_syndrome.html" ;"title="ith children with Down's syndrome">ith children with Down's syndrome">Down's_syndrome.html" ;"title="ith children with Down's syndrome">ith children with Down's syndrome.. have no reason to feel guilty about putting a Down's syndrome baby away, whether it's "put away" in the sense of hidden in a sanitarium or in a more responsible lethal sense. It is sad; yes. Dreadful. But it carries no guilt. True guilt arises only from an offense against a person, and a Down's is not a person."
* 1954 ''Morals and Medicine'' N.J.: Princeton University Press. (on euthanasia)
* 1966 ''Situation Ethics: The New Morality'', Philadelphia: Westminster Press. (translated into 5 languages)
* 1974 ''The Ethics of Genetic Control: Ending Reproductive Roulette''. New York: Doubleday. (on eugenic cloning)