Biomedical Ethics is a brief philosophical introduction to the most important ethical questions and arguments in six areas of biomedicine: the patient-doctor relationship; medical research on humans; reproductive rights and technologies; genetics; medical decisions at the end of life; and the allocation of scarce medical resources.
Topics cover both perennial ethical issues in medicine, such as doctors' duties to patients, and recent and emerging ethical issues in scientific innovation, such as gene therapy and cloning
Ideal for courses in contemporary moral problems, introduction to ethics, and introduction to bioethics

Contents:
Chapter1: 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
Further Reading

Chapter 2: The Patient-Doctor Relationship
Introduction
Informed Consent
Therapeutic Privilege
Confidentiality
Cross-Cultural Relations
What Sort of Doctors Do We Need?
Conclusion

Chapter 3: Medical Research on Humans
Introduction
Design of Clinical Trials
Equipoise, Randomisation, and Placebos
Problems with Consent
Vulnerable Populations
Protections and Justice
Conclusion
Further Reading

Chapter 4: Reproductive Rights and Technologies
Introduction
Abortion
The Moral Status of Embryos
Surrogate Pregnancy
Sex Cloning
Conclusion
Further Reading

Chapter 5: Genetics
Introduction
Genetic Testing and Screening
Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PIGD)
Gene Therapy
Genetic Enhancement
Eugenics
Conclusion
Further Reading

Chapter 6: Medical Decisions at the End of Life
Introduction
Defining Death
Withholding and Withdrawing Treatment
Double Effect
Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide
Futility
Conclusion
Further Reading

Chapter 7: Allocating Scarce Medical Resources
Introduction
Setting Priorities
QALYs
Age-Based Rationing
Organ Transplantation
Two-Tiered Health Care
Conclusion
Further Reading