An Evolution of Feminist Thought in Nursing Ethics

Over the past 30 years, feminist ethics has influenced the evolution of nursing ethics. Its emphasis on social justice and power along with its understanding of persons as connected, interdependent, and uniquely situated have been characteristics that have resonated with nursing and midwifery scholars. In this chapter, we outline some of the early developments that drew on the work of Gilligan and Noddings, which described an ethic of care. We then provide an overview of later scholarship that drew on feminist ethics that explicitly responded to the importance of attending to power and oppression. Specifically, we discuss how feminist ethics has been highly relevant in the explication of the moral responsibilities and concerns that nurses have in their relationships with patients and families across various nursing specialty areas. Feminist interpretations of moral responsibility, compassion, autonomy, and hope have been especially informative in locating the experience of illness squarely within the network of relationships that surround people who are in need of care. Not surprisingly, given the influence of women’s health movements, feminist ethics has also influenced midwifery and perinatal nursing ethics, which has made central the importance of women’s autonomy and relationships during birth. Finally, we explore the contributions of feminist ethics, particularly the concept of moral habitability, that has examined the influence of the context of nursing work environments. Overall, although the volume of scholarship in nursing and midwifery using feminist ethics is modest, feminist ethics has enabled the development of a unique branch of healthcare ethics.