Ethical issues in medicine are rarely out of the news, and provide a source of great concern for both the general public and medical practitioners alike. This "Very Short Introduction" highlights a wide range of thorny moral questions related to health care. Some of these are age old, such as euthanasia and the morality of killing, while others have arisen with recent advances in medical technology. Michael Dunn and Tony Hope explain the tools of ethical reasoning and show how these can be used to explore the role of ethics in decisions and dilemmas that have to be faced in health care worldwide and on a daily basis. -- From publisher's description.

Previous edition: 2004.

On why medical ethics is exciting -- Assisted dying : good medical practice, or murder? -- A toolbox of reasoning -- People who don't exist; at least not yet -- Inconsistencies about madness -- Helping the helper -- Establishing fair procedure -- How modern genetics is testing traditional confidentiality -- Culture, consent, and community -- A glance into the future.