Overview

This book explores the ethical challenges posed at the cutting edge of biomedical science and health care. Art Caplan, one of the nation's leading theorists, clearly outlines the newest technologies and developments in medical research, then thoughtfully sorts through the potential ethical, legal, and social repercussions. He examines a huge number of the most current and controversial subjects--abortion, cloning, managed care, needle exchange programs to prevent the transmission of HIV, and much more. Art Caplan makes his mark as one of today's leading ethicists with this powerful exploration of the moral dilemmas humanity must face in the advancement of biomedical science and health care. After outlining the newest technologies and developments in medical research, he thoughtfully sorts through the potential ethical, legal, and social repercussions of cloning, abortion, assisted suicide, and needle exchange programs. No other book combines such probing analytical clarity.

Full Product Details

9780471183440

Table of Contents

Reviews

Quick takes on a slew of biomedical-ethics issues in down-to-earth, sometimes downright slangy, let-the-chips-fall-where-they-may prose. Caplan (If I Were a Rich Man I Could Buy a Pancreas and Other Essays on Medical Ethics, not reviewed), a leading bioethicist and director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, has the common touch when it comes to pointing out the implications of the numerous sticky problems modern medicine has generated. He has grouped his essays into 11 categories, including abortion and birth control, genetics, technological reproduction, managed care, starting and stopping care, and assisted suicide. Many of these short pieces had their beginnings as newspaper columns, and it shows. The lead-in is often punchy: Abortion kills ; Quit blubbering ; America is a nation loony over individual liberty. The language is often flippant: Sex offenders are certified kooks and creeps, Dr. Kevorkian is a phony, a dangerous nut waging a euthansia jihad ; Congress is filled with blockheads. The trigger for each story is often a headline of the day, such as Mickey Mantle's speedy liver transplant, O.J. Simpson's acquittal in the face of damning DNA evidence, or presidential candidate Bob Dole's gonzo views on tobacco. All this no doubt lent these pieces immediacy at the time, but it now makes them seem a bit dated. Further, editing to combine some of these short pieces would have eliminated unnecessary repetition. While the brevity of these essays is often disconcerting, Caplan is alert to new and developing problems, swift at getting to what he sees as the heart of an issue, and emphatic in his opinions. Provocative and accessible. High-school teachers take note: Here's an approachable way to get the kids thinking. (Kirkus Reviews)

Author Information

Arthur Caplan is the Director of the Center for Bioethics and Trustee Professor of Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. He has published numerous books including When Medicine Went Mad (1992). He is a frequent commentator in the media including National Public Radio, Nightline, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and Time Magazine. He has written more than 350 articles and reviews in professional journals on philosophy, medicine, health policy and the biological sciences. He's currently involved in consulting and policy for various committees including the Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Syndrome, Clinton Health Care Task Force, Office of Technology Assessment of the United States Congress, American Federation for AIDS Research and many more.

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