Medical Ethics: A Very Short Introduction

[sawyl]

For no terribly good reason, other than idle curiosity, I've just read Medical Ethics: A Very Short Introduction by Tony Hope.

The book kicks off with an investigation of euthanasia and examines the effects of statistics the distributive justice of health-care before moving on to the problems surrounding reproductive ethics. After a brief hiatus to introduce various formal logical methods, the focus shifts to examine inconsistencies between our treatment of criminals and those judged mentally ill. Following an analysis of the issues of confidentiality and data ownership raised by genetic testing, there is a brief discussion of the ethical problems raised by overseas drug testing before things wrap up with a good thumbnail sketch of the Gillick Case.

As promised by its subtitle, the book provides a good basic guide to the most common problems of medical ethics. Hope is an excellent guide, cheerfully partisan but always explaining his arguments with clarity and brevity. Obviously, none of the areas mentioned is covered in great detail, but the recommended reading lists for each chapter are detailed and cite reliably good sources on each subject.

Highly recommended.