Should a woman with brain death be artificially maintained for the sake of the foetus? Does a doctor have the right to give a life-saving transfusion despite the patient's religious beliefs? Can a family ask for a hysterectomy for their handicapped daughter? Doctors are increasingly faced with moral dilemmas. But how should these delicate questions be addressed and by whom? The Handbook of Medical Ethics offers a real-world perspective on the central question of clinical ethics. As case analysis plays a key role in this study, the authors have assembled a broad collection of stories encountered in their work as medical ethics educators and consultants. Cases are worked through in detail to reflect the rich medical and psychosocial complexity involved, and each is brought to a decision point where a course of action must be chosen. Among the issues explored are conflicts between patients' wishes and respect for their wellbeing, tensions over the responsibilities of incapacitated patients and obligations to family members, and conflicts between patients' duties of care and the interests of others, including doctors, third parties and the general public. The book also includes commentaries that combine a general discussion of ethical principles with a detailed analysis of the cases considered in the text, as well as various options for conflict resolution. Readers are invited to evaluate the comparative merits and responsibilities of these approaches.
