This brief summary of the issues of biomedical ethics provides a balanced, systematic, unbiased framework designed to help health professionals an lay people understand and analyze a wide range of topics that are currently controversial in medicine or that are likely to arise in the future.Broad in scope, it considers ethical systems from various religious and secular traditions, including those of non-western cultures such as Asian religious and secular traditions. Topics include the history of codes of ethics; the definition of death, abortion, animal rights and welfare; problems in deciding what will benefit patients; confidentiality, truth-telling, informed consent; the care of the terminally ill; genetics, birth technologies; and problems of social ethics, including resource allocation, organ transplant, and human subjects research.For use in allied health fields.
"As a leader and pioneer in the field, Veatch is very solid in terms of accuracy." ― Kyle Fedler, Ashland University
"I've used the Veatch book in teaching bioethics in short courses to non-philosophy audiences: medical students, physical therapy students, physician assistants, etc. They like it very much. It is readable, accessible, and interesting. The examples are well-chosen and memorable. The topics are well-chosen and coverage [is] appropriate. The presentation is balanced and thought-provoking." ― Leslie Pickering Francis, University of Utah