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"This new edition of Eva Feder Kittay's feminist classic, Love's Labors, explores how theories of justice and morality must be reconfigured when intersecting with care and dependency, and the failure of policy towards women who engage in care work. The work is hailed as a major contribution to the development of an ethics of care. Where society is viewed as an association of equal and autonomous persons, the work of caring for dependents figure neither in political theory nor in social policy. While some women have made many gains, equality continues to elude many others, as in large measure, social institutions fail to take into account the dependency of childhood, illness, disability and frail old age and fail to adequately support those who care for dependents. Using a narrative of her experiences caring for her disabled daughter, she discusses the relevance of her analysis of dependency to significant cognitive disability. Eva Feder Kittay explores the significance of dependency work by analyzing John Rawls' influential liberal theory, and two examples of public policy--welfare reform and family leave--to show how theory and policy fail women when they miss the centrality of dependency to issues of justice. This second edition has updated material on care workers, her adult disabled daughter and key changes in welfare reform. Using a mix of personal reflection and political argument, this new edition of a classic text will continue to be an innovative and influential contribution to the debate on searching for greater equality and justice for women. Love's Labors has spoken to audiences around the world and has had an impact on readers from many countries and over many disciplines: philosophy, sociology, disability studies, nursing. It has been required and supplementary reading on many undergraduate courses on Ethics, Feminist Ethics, Gender and Religious Ethics, Political Theory, Bioethics and Disability Studies. It has been translated into Italian, Japanese and Korean"--

Disability offers a significant challenge to long-held philosophical views of the nature of the good life, what offers meaning in our lives, the importance of care, & the centrality of reason, as well as questions of justice, dignity, & personhood. In this work, the author claims that living with a daughter who has multiple & significant disabilities, including cognitive disabilities, has been transformative for thinking about her training, career & research as a philosopher. Interweaving the personal voice with the philosophical, the text argues that cognitive disability should reorient us to what truly matters; raises the question of whether normalcy is necessary for a good life; & considers the ethical questions regarding prenatal testing & what it implies for understanding disability, the family, & ethically informed bioethics.

I explore the ethics of altering the body of a child with severe cognitive disabilities in such a way that keeps the child "forever small." The parents of Ashley, a girl of six with severe cognitive and developmental disabilities, in collaboration with her physicians and the Hospital Ethics Committee, chose to administer growth hormones that would inhibit her growth. They also decided to remove her uterus and breast buds, assuring that she would not go through the discomfort of menstruation and would not grow breasts. In this way she would stay "forever small" and be able to be carried and handled by family members. They claimed that doing this would ensure that she would be able to be part of the family and of family activities and to have familial care. But the procedure has raised thorny ethical questions. I wish to explore these questions philosophically by bringing to bear my own experiences as a mother of a grown daughter with severe cognitive impairments.

Because welfare largely affects women's lives, it is argued that welfare primarily is a woman's issue. Thus, it is contended that welfare must be reconceptualized to prevent the stigmatization of women who receive welfare support. A historical overview of conventional justifications for welfare illustrates the need to investigate specific causes of women's poverty; in addition, the maternalist defense of welfare is reviewed. Rather than study moral, economic, & social causes of dependency, greater attention must be directed toward the examination of dependency relations. The Greek word doulia (service) is used to represent a notion of social cooperation in which dependency relations are protected through the granting of welfare benefits to single mothers; in addition, the extension of welfare benefits to all dependency workers is advocated. It is concluded that giving welfare to dependency workers will empower single mothers, increase their social participation, & prevent additional exploitation of these women. 48 References. J. W. Parker