Summary

Considering the ethical decisions medical practitioners must face, Beginning Life takes a close look at several bold medical innovations that have created new lives and saved others. With detailed information on assisted reproductive technologies like in vitro fertilization (IVF) and surrogacy, genetic testing and therapy, stem cells and therapeutic cloning, and intensive care techniques for severely premature newborns, this new resource highlights key ethical principles and their application to the everyday practice of medicine.

Each story chosen for the book has received attention in the press and has provoked controversy at a local, national, and even international level. Yet at the heart of each of these stories are the lives of real patients. This book is ideal for students considering careers in health care, medical research, and medical ethics.

Specifications

Black-and-white photographs and line illustrations. Index. Glossary. Chronology. Print and Web resources. Tables and charts.

About the Author(s)

Miriam Boleyn-Fitzgerald has published extensively in the fields of biomedical ethics, environmental policy, and nuclear security. With a degree in physics from Swarthmore College and graduate studies in history of science at MIT, she has served as staff writer for President Clinton's Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments, as an analyst for the Natural Resources Defense Council's International Nuclear Program, and as an environmental consultant for the Union of Concerned Scientists.