Includes bibliographical references and index

1. History and theories -- Introduction -- The need for theories -- Consequentialism and deontology -- Virtue ethics and feminist ethics -- Communitarianism and liberalism -- The rejection of theories : casuistry and cultural relativism -- Conclusion -- Selected readings -- 2. The patient-doctor relationship -- Introduction -- Informed consent -- Therapeutic privilege -- Confidentiality -- Cross-cultural relations -- What sort of doctors do we need? -- Conclusion -- Selected readings -- 3. Medical research on humans -- Introduction -- Design of clinical trials -- Equipoise, randomization, and placebos -- Problems with consent -- Vulnerable populations -- Protections and justice -- Conclusion -- Selected readings -- 4. Reproductive rights and technologies -- Introduction -- Abortion -- The moral status of embryos -- Surrogate pregnancy -- Sex selection -- Cloning -- Conclusion -- Selected readings -- 5. Genetics -- Introduction -- Genetic testing and screening -- Preimplantation genetic diagnosis -- Gene therapy -- Genetic enhancement -- Eugenics -- Conclusion -- Selected readings -- 6. Medical decisions at the end of life -- Introduction -- Defining death -- Withdrawing and withholding treatment -- Double effect -- Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide -- Futility -- Conclusion -- Selected readings -- 7. Allocating scarce medical resources -- Introduction -- Setting priorities -- Quality-adjusted life-years -- Age-based rationing -- Organ transplantation -- Two-tiered health care -- Conclusion -- Selected readings

A brief philosophical introduction to the most important ethical questions and arguments in six areas of biomedicine. The topics cover both perennial ethical issues in medicine and recent and emerging ethical issues in scientific innovation and capture the historical, contemporary and future-oriented flavour of these areas