Case Studies in Biomedical Ethics: Decision-Making, Principles, and Cases » (New Edition)

We are living in an unprecedented era of biomedical revolution. Medicine is remaking humans, and controversy surrounds such topics as abortion, artificial organs, brain circuitry, eugenics, euthanasia, and gene therapy. At the same time, medical advances are posing complex ethical problems for both patients and professionals.
The most comprehensive and up-to-date collection of its kind, Case Studies in Biomedical Ethics: Decision-Making, Principles, and Cases explores fundamental ethical questions arising from real situations faced by health professionals, patients, and others. Featuring a wide range of more than 100 case studies drawn from current events, court cases, and physicians' experiences, the book is divided into three parts. Part I presents a basic framework for ethical decision-making in healthcare, covering such issues as separating evaluative questions from questions of fact; distinguishing between ethical and nonethical evaluations; and identifying the source of ethical judgments. Expanding upon this framework, Part II explains the ethical principles: beneficence and nonmaleficence, justice, respect for autonomy, veracity, fidelity, and avoidance of killing. Parts I and II provide students with the background to analyze the ethical dilemmas presented in Part III, which features cases on a broad spectrum of issues including abortion, genetics, mental health, confidentiality, health insurance, experimentation on humans, the right to refuse treatment, and death and dying. Each case is accompanied by the authors' commentary, which guides students in considering the issues.
Ideal for undergraduate and graduate courses in biomedical ethics, bioethics, and medical ethics, Case Studies in Biomedical Ethics incorporates opening text boxes in each chapter that cross-reference relevant cases in other chapters. It also includes an appendix of important ethical codes and a glossary of key terms.

List of Cases

List of Tables

Introduction Four Questions of Ethics 3

Pt. 1 Ethics and Values in Medical Cases 21

Ch. 1 A Model for Ethical Problem Solving 23

Ch. 2 Values in Health and Illness 33

Ch. 3 What Is the Source of Moral Judgments? 49

Pt. 2 Ethical Principles in Medical Ethics 69

Ch. 4 Benefiting the Patient and Others: The Duty to Do Good and Avoid Harm 71

Ch. 5 Justice: The Allocation of Health Resources 97

Ch. 6 Autonomy 113

Ch. 7 Veracity: Honesty with Patients 132

Ch. 8 Fidelity: Promise-Keeping, Loyalty to Patients, and Impaired Professionals 154

Ch. 9 Avoidance of Killing 172

Pt. 3 Special Problem Areas 205

Ch. 10 Abortion, Sterilization, and Contraception 207

Ch. 11 Genetics, Birth, and the Biological Revolution 229

Ch. 12 Mental Health and Behavior Control 250

Ch. 13 Confidentiality: Ethical Disclosure of Medical Information 276

Ch. 14 Organ Transplants 294

Ch. 15 Health Insurance, Health System Planning, and Rationing 323

Ch. 16 Experimentation on Human Subjects 340

Ch. 17 Consent and the Right to Refuse Treatment 366

Ch. 18 Death and Dying 389

Appendix Codes of Ethics 419

Glossary 431

List of Cases from Public Sources 435

Index 439