Ethics

What is the moral status of humans lacking the potential for consciousness? The concept of potentiality often tips the scales in life-and-death medical decisions. Some argue that all human embryos have the potential to develop characteristics - such as...

The manner in which genetic research associated with addiction is conducted, interpreted and translated into clinical practice and policy initiatives raises important social, ethical and legal issues. Genetic Research on Addiction fulfils two key aims;...

As nations race to hone contact-tracing efforts, the world's experts consider strategies for maximum transparency and impact.As public health professionals around the world work tirelessly to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is clear that traditional...

Originally published in 1985, this book examines the concept of death against the background of dramatic changes in medical technology. The book argues that 'brain death' can be precisely defined and that a biological concept of death such as 'brain...

Businesses that produce bioscience products-gene tests and therapies, pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and medical devices-are regularly confronted with ethical issues concerning these technologies. Conflicts exist between those who support advancements in...

Approximately two-thirds of deaths in the United States involve a doctor's partnership with an individual, whether it be for the administration of pain relief or sedation or for the act of discontinuing or not beginning life-sustaining treatment. In A...

The Double-Edged Helix explores the impact of recent genetic discoveries on both different population segments and society as a whole. The authors address the medical and ethical implications of the new technologies, outlining potential positive and...

In this groundbreaking work, leading philosophers, legal theorists, bioethicists, and policy makers offer incisive looks into the philosophical and moral foundations of disability law and policy.About the AuthorLeslie Francis is Professor of Philosophy...

Originally published in 1990, this study of the moral problems bound up with transplant therapy addresses a finely balanced distinction between ethical issues relating to its experimental nature on the one hand and those which arise when transplantation...

How can dedicated health care ethics committees increase their effectiveness and demonstrate their value as essential moral resources for their organizations?Among the most effective and increasingly valued resources in the health care decision-making...

Public attention on embryo research has never been greater. Modern reproductive medicine technology and the use of embryos to generate stem cells ensure that this will continue to be a topic of debate and research across many disciplines. This...

Going back at least to the writings of John Stuart Mill and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, people have argued for and against maintaining a state of nature. Is there an inherent virtue in leaving alone a naturally occurring condition, or does the human species...

Living-With Wisdom explores the way in which ancient Greek models of philosophy as an attempt to live 'the good life' can and should be realised through the practice of permaculture. Following the thought of Plato and Aristotle, the author places the...

The use of human subjects in biomedical research has increased rapidly with scientific discoveries. However, the failure to achieve the highest - or even adequate - standards of professional moral concern and behavior is a serious side effect. Research...

Few would question the necessity of artificial limbs for amputees. But what of surgery to lengthen the legs of children who are merely shorter than average? Hardly anyone would challenge the decision to prescribe Aricept to people with dementia. But is...

In the era of the Internet and Oprah, in which formerly taboo information is readily available or freely confided, secrecy and privacy have in many ways given way to an onslaught of confession. Yet for those who are HIV positive, decisions about...

Scientists and philosophers have long struggled to answer the questions of when human life begins and when human life has inherent value. The phenomenon of identical (monozygotic) twinning presents a significant challenge to the view that human life and...

Edmund D. Pellegrino has played a central role in shaping the fields of bioethics and the philosophy of medicine. His writings encompass original explorations of the healing relationship, the need to place humanism in the medical curriculum, the nature...

Nearly 120,000 people are in need of healthy organs in the United States. Every ten minutes a new name is added to the list, while on average twenty people die each day waiting for an organ to become available. Worse, our traditional reliance on...

Medical confidentiality has long been recognised as a core element of medical ethics, but its boundaries are under constant negotiation. Areas of debate in twenty-first century medicine include the use of patient-identifiable data in research,...

We often hear stories of people in terrible and seemingly intractable situations who are preyed upon by someone offering promises of help. Frequently these cases are condemned in terms of "exploiting hope." These accusations are made in a range of...

The Ethics of Pregnancy, Abortion and Childbirth addresses the unique moral questions raised by pregnancy and its intimate bodily nature. From assisted reproduction to abortion and 'vital conflict' resolution to more everyday concerns of the pregnant...

As the population ages and the health care system focuses on cost-containment, family caregivers have become the frontline providers of most long-term and chronic care. Patient care at home falls mainly on untrained and unprepared family members, who...

The Definition of Death: Contemporary Controversies is the first comprehensive review of the clinical, philosophical, and public policy implications of our effort to redefine the change in status from living person to corpse. It is the result of a...

Neonatal intensive care has been one of the most morally controversial areas of medicine during the past thirty years. This study examines the interconnected development of four key aspects of neonatal intensive care: medical advances, ethical analysis,...

Self-regulation constitutes an important aspect of the regulatory and oversight process governing professionals. This book focuses directly on medical self-regulation in the context of both the wider regulatory framework and that of other regulatory...

Advance directives - such as living wills and health care proxies - are documents intended to declare and preserve the health care choices of patients if they become unable to make their own decisions. This book provides a comprehensive overview of...

Case Analysis in Clinical Ethics is an eclectic review from a team of leading ethicists covering the main methods for analysing ethical problems in modern medicine. Anneke Lucassen, a clinician, begins by presenting an ethically challenging genetics case...

"Health Care Ethics" is a comprehensive study of significant issues affecting health care and the ethics of health care from the perspective of Catholic theology. It aims to help Christian, and especially Catholic, health care professionals solve...

Health research around the world relies on access to data, and much of the most valuable, reliable, and comprehensive data collections are held by governments. These collections, which contain data on whole populations, are a powerful tool in the hands...

Professional values in healthcare are in a state of constant and increasingly rapid change. While all professions now emphasise teamwork and collegiality in practice, fewer are inclined to consider shared or differing values across professions.This...

Animals, like humans, suffer and die from natural causes. This is particularly true of animals living in the wild, given their high exposure to, and low capacity to cope with, harmful natural processes. Most wild animals likely have short lives, full of...

In Mass Hysteria, Rebecca Kukla examines the present-day medical and cultural practices surrounding pregnancy, new motherhood, and infant feeding. In the late-eighteenth century, the configuration of the maternal body underwent a radical transformation...

The use of animals in research has always been surrounded by ethical controversy. This book provides an overview of the central ethical issues focusing on the interconnectedness of science, law and ethics. It aims to make theoretical ethical reasoning...

Disputes in Bioethics tackles some of the most debated questions in contemporary scholarship about the beginning and end of life. This collection of essays takes up questions about the dawn of human life, including: Should we make children with three (or...

How work gets done in complex health care systems is ethically important. When health care professionals and other staff are pressured to improvise, fix structural problems, or comply with competing policies, the uncertainty and distress they experience...

Advances in genetics and related biotechnologies are having a profound effect on sport, raising important ethical questions about the limits and possibilities of the human body. Drawing on real case studies and grounded in rigorous scientific evidence,...

Being a patient is a unique interpersonal experience but it is also a universal human experience. The relationships formed when we are patients can also teach some of life's most important lessons, and these relationships provide a special window into...

Medicine and health care generate many bioethical problems and dilemmas that are of great academic, professional and public interest. This comprehensive resource is designed as a succinct yet authoritative text and reference for clinicians, bioethicists,...

How does the market affect and redefine healthcare? The marketisation of Western healthcare systems has now proceeded well into its fourth decade. But the nature and meaning of the phenomenon has become increasingly opaque amidst changing discourses,...