Book Description

The Fifth Edition of Bioethics and the Law takes a multidisciplinary approach that combines legal discussion with jurisprudential, philosophical, and sociological materials. Strong expressions of different points of view highlight debates about bioethical issues. The text underscores the need to mediate between the law's focus on broad rules and the bioethicist's concern with context and detail. Bioethics and the Law supplements the traditional focus of bioethics on the interest of the individual with a second focus on the broader developments that shape healthcare. Connecting broad public healthcare issues to concerns of the individual patient/healthcare consumer, the text promotes understanding of unsettling and complex situations and shows the implications of bioethical developments for understandings of personhood. New to the Fifth Edition: New coauthor Ashley Hurst joins for this edition Presentation of technological innovations (e.g., artificial intelligence [AI]) and their implications for healthcare Expansive discussion of COVID-19 pandemic and public health emergencies Updated discussions of genetics and genomics and the implications for society and law Innovations in assisted reproduction Changes in abortion law Updated discussion of Medical Aid in Dying laws Professors and students will benefit from: Considering the ethical implications of health care as a business, an essential service based in professional expertise and a set of significant relationships Facing the shifting parameters of the provider/patient relationship in healthcare Understanding the role of government in designing and implementing healthcare programs such as Medicaid and Medicare Exploring the conflicts between a focus on individual autonomy and on the health of communities