Basics of Bioethics

Laura K. Guidry-Grimes is Associate Staff Bioethicist at the Cleveland Clinic with faculty appointments at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and Case Western Reserve University. She provides clinical ethics consultation and teaches bioethics to practitioners, trainees, and students across disciplines. She co-authored the fourth edition of The Basics of Bioethics (2019) and co-edited Applying Nonideal Theory to Bioethics: Living and Dying in a Nonideal World (with Elizabeth Victor, 2021) and Moral Expertise: New Essays from Theoretical and Clinical Bioethics (with Jamie Carlin Watson, 2018).Robert M. Veatch, before his passing in 2020, was Senior Research Scholar and Professor of Medical Ethics, Emeritus, and former Director at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University. While co-author to previous editions of The Basics of Bioethics, he also authored, co-authored, or edited 60 additional books, including Hippocratic, Religious, and Secular Medical Ethics (2012), Case Studies in Biomedical Ethics (with Amy Haddad and Dan English, 2015), Transplantation Ethics (with Lainie F. Ross, 2015), and Defining Death: The Case for Choice (with Lainie F. Ross, 2016).

Praise for the Fourth Edition“Veatch and Guidry-Grimes have set a new standard for balancing breadth, clarity, and accessibility for introductory texts in healthcare ethics. They impressively cover a wide range of important topics, and they are judicious and fair in their discussion of the many sides to pressing bioethical debates. This text will serve well undergraduate students in general healthcare ethics courses, as well as anyone looking for an up-to-date guide to contemporary debates in bioethics.” – Michael J. Deem, Duquesne UniversityPraise for the Fifth Edition“The Basics of Bioethics remains an essential entry point into the field of bioethics. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as ethical questions in medicine, public health, and research have grown increasingly urgent and complex, this volume helps readers navigate both longstanding debates and emerging challenges in bioethics. Accessible, balanced, and consistently engaging, it offers an indispensable framework for understanding a rapidly evolving field.” — Devan Stahl, Baylor University“The Basics of Bioethics continues to stand out for its thoughtful narratives, historical perspective, and practical frameworks alongside multi-dimensional ethical analysis. In a field that has recently confronted a ground-shifting pandemic, Guidry-Grimes has sustained a balance in this 5th edition between foundational bioethical discourses and today’s most pressing issues. The result is an accessible and critically and normatively grounded map for learners. It serves as a steady guide to complex bioethical conflicts brought on by social, medical, and technological changes.”-- Georgina Campelia, University of Washington School of Medicine and Chief of Harborview Medical Center Ethics Consultation Service

• 1. A Map of the Terrain of Ethics 2. The Hippocratic Oath and Its Challengers: A Brief History 3. The Basis of Moral Status in Debates on Defining Death, Abortion, Stem Cells, and Animal Welfare 4. Principle-Based Approaches to Moral Problems in Bioethics 5. Alternative Approaches: Virtues, Casuistry, Narrative Ethics, Feminist Ethics, Care Ethics, and Disability Ethics 6. Problems in Benefiting and Avoiding Harm 7. The Ethics of Respect for Persons 8. The Principle of Avoiding Killing 9. The Ethics of Deciding on Behalf of Another 10. Human Control of Life: Genetics and Modifying Human Nature 11. Reproductive Choice and Technologies: Ethical Challenges in the Creation of Humans 12. Social Ethics of Medicine: Utility Measures, Healthcare Systems, Transplantation, and Research Involving Human Participants 13 Public Health in Crisis: Emergency Planning and Triage Appendix.