Abstract

Many of the challenges of medical ethics today were nonexistent during the time when Hippocrates wrote his famous oath. In an increasingly complex world, many more new ethical issues will impact on the practice of medicine in the 21st century: quality care, growing patient demand, high technology, the definition of death, and controversies relating to the right to live and the right to die. In addition, there will be questions raised with regard to issues and practices such as research on embryos, genetic engineering, experiments on animals and clinical trials, and the problems of limited medical resources. These can lead to grave dilemmas, causing uncertainty and confusion in the medical profession.This book is based on the lectures and essays on medical ethics by a number of leading Singapore doctors. It records the thoughts of the leaders on medical ethics, and discusses a range of important and controversial issues. It will be a valuable reference for medical students as well as interesting and informative reading for both the professional and the lay reader.