Birth to Death: Science and Bioethics

Front Cover
David C. Thomasma, Thomasine Kimbrough Kushner
Cambridge University Press, Jul 13, 1996 - Business & Economics - 382 pages
The explosive growth of science and medicine in recent times has raised a host of ethical issues. This book reviews major advances in biology and medicine and explores their ethical implications. Organized by stage of human life--from birth to death--it guides the reader through the critical issues that face our technologically advanced society. Each section contains a sketch of the scientific research in a particular field and then discusses the issues that challenge our ethical and moral principles, social frameworks, and public policies. A world-class group of contributors from biology, medicine, technology, and ethics probe controversial topics such as genetic research, transplantation, reproductive technologies, prolonging life and euthanasia, and research on animals and humans. The essays are concise, to the point, and deliberately free of jargon, and the entire work is framed by an introduction and postscript that point the way to the major questions. This book is the perfect introduction for novice readers with general or specific questions about the ethical issues raised by the rapid advance of science and technology. David Thomasma has written many books on medical ethics including For the Patient's Good and Euthanasia: Toward an Ethical Social Policy. He and Thomasine Kushner are the editors of the journal Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics.
 

Contents

A scientific sketch
5
Bioethics The genetic revolution
13
REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES
35
Rationality in reproduction
50
Bioethics Medical technology and the child
79
On caring for children
85
TRANSPLANTATION
99
Bioethics Transplantation and ethics 106
106
Ethical issues 169
169
Medicines rampant technology 177
177
Science Modern technology and the care of the dying 191
191
From an ethics perspective 198
198
EUTHANASIA AND PHYSICIANASSISTED
207
Progress or peril? 218
218
Doctors should be permitted to give death a helping hand 247
247
HUMANS AS RESEARCH SUBJECTS
259

Legalizing payment for transplantable cadaveric organs 119
119
AGING
133
Bioethics Ethics and aging 142
142
A moral challenge 154
154
PROLONGING LIFEDEATH
163
Bioethics Research involving children as subjects 270
270
USING ANIMALS IN RESEARCH
301
Medical experimentation animal rights
313
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