Birth to Death: Science and BioethicsDavid C. Thomasma, Thomasine Kimbrough Kushner 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 |
Other editions - View all
Birth to Death: Science and Bioethics David C. Thomasma,Thomasine Kimbrough Kushner No preview available - 1996 |
Birth to Death: Science and Bioethics David C. Thomasma,Thomasine Kimbrough Kushner No preview available - 1996 |
Common terms and phrases
abortion accept Alzheimer's disease animal research animal rights argue argument assentist assisted suicide autonomy baby behavior benefit biological birth cells child chromosome clinical concern condition context culture death decisions dementia doctors donor drugs duties effect elders embryos environment environmental ethical example experience fetus further reading futile gene genome goals harm human Human Genome Project illness increased individual infants informed consent institutions intervention involved issue justice killing live means medical ethics medicine moral National nature obligation organ donation organ transplantation pain palliative care parents persistent vegetative person physicians possible potential practice pregnancy principles problems procedures protection question relationship reproduction requires research subjects respect result risk scientific social society sperm suffering Suggestions for further suicide therapy transplantable organs treat treatment understanding University Press utilitarian values vitro fertilization voluntary euthanasia York