Body Integrity Dysphoria and the Ethical Dilemma of On-Demand Amputation

This book, explores the complex moral and ethical dilemmas surrounding Body Integrity Dysphoria (BID) and its recent classification in the ICD-11. The examination offers a pioneering view into a condition that remains deeply controversial within medical and public discourse.

BID is characterised by a persistent desire to acquire a physical impairment, often through amputation. Such a situation forces the medical world to take a stance by either granting the amputation request or rejecting it with the risk of pushing individuals toward self-made solutions.

Through a review of the contemporary understanding of BID as well as original data obtained during extensive fieldwork with medical professionals, this book addresses the ethical and moral aspects of the condition. Fundamental questions are posed about the relationship between bodily autonomy and embodiment, identity and gender, well-being and moral responsibility, and how these elements intertwine, shape and are shaped by sociocultural understanding of illness and body.

The book aims to move beyond traditional understandings of body functionality to consider the implications of autonomy and the extent to which an individual considered mentally and physically sound can dispose of one's own body within the contemporary medical paradigm. This is done to question long-standing assumptions about bodily integrity and traditional views on the wholeness and naturalness of the human form. As postmodern theories challenge established frameworks, a paradigm shift emerges in medical and societal approaches to identity, embodiment, and impairment, and this needs to be addressed.

Drawing on insights from medicine, psychology, sociology, and ethics, this book situates BID within a broader cultural and philosophical context. It raises essential questions about where individuals' rights intersect with medical responsibility and societal perceptions of normalcy and health. By doing so, the book provokes readers to reconsider the boundaries between health, pathology, and self-determination.