Includes bibliographical references (pages 267-297) and index.

What Are the Philosophical Foundations of Bioethics? -- How Has the Shift from Paternalism to Autonomy Shaped Bioethics? -- Do Advance Directives Protect Patient Autonomy? -- When Is Experimentation on Human Subjects Unethical? -- How Should Death Be Defined and Determined? -- Is Physician-Assisted Dying an Ethical Choice? -- Is Abortion an Ethical Choice? -- What Are the Implications of the Disability Critique? -- What Ethical Issues Are Raised by Assisted Reproductive Technology? -- What is Required for a Healthcare System to Be Just? -- How Can Scarce Resources Be Allocated Justly? -- What is a Justified Price for Pharmaceutical Drugs? -- Is It Ethical to Genetically Modify Humans?.

"The questions and dilemmas of bioethics touch everyone. Should people who refuse to be vaccinated be treated for COVID-19, even if that displaces vaccinated patients with other serious conditions? What restrictions on abortion should there be, if any? Should women be paid to donate eggs? Bioethics: What Everyone Needs to Know ® discusses these and other similar questions facing the public today--as well as providing a way for thinking deeply about them. Steinbock and Menzel first examine major moral theories and how they can be used to analyze bioethical issues. They then provide historical background to the birth of bioethics and explain how it shifted from a paternalistic doctor knows best approach to respect for autonomy, a fundamental value in contemporary bioethics. Subsequent chapters cover advance directives, experimentation on human subjects, the definition of death, physician-assisted dying, abortion, disability, just healthcare systems, the allocation of scarce resources, pharmaceutical drug pricing, assisted reproductive technology, egg donation, surrogate motherhood, sex selection, and the genetic modification of humans. Race and gender are considered throughout, as are the ethical issues raised by pandemics. Steinbock and Menzel consider the controversial questions that surface in the public sphere, explaining the facts, and then evaluating different approaches to resolving them."-- Publisher.