Derek Morgan – författare

Should surrogacy be allowed? What guidelines are needed to control in vitro fertilization programmes? What should we tell the children born in the wake of the 'reproduction revolution' about their origins? These are typical of the many issues addressed in a book which seeks to challenge the ethical basis for much of the legal regulation of matters surrounding birth. First published in hardback in spring 1989, Birthrights deals with a controversial area which continues to be at the centre of much public debate. The editors' new preface, especially written for the paperback edition, surveys important developments in legislation since the book's first publication.

The increasing capacity of medicine to intervene to save lives demands that we ask more and more questions about what death is, and why it matters. This series of studies on law, ethics and medicine contributes to the debate on when and how it is permissable to terminate life, to warn of death, and to deal with tragedy in its aftermath. The essays are wide-ranging, provocative and timely. Accessible to those from the worlds of both law and medicine, this work focuses uniquely upon an issue which is increasingly significant for both sets of practitioners.

Thirty years ago, English jurist Patrick Devlin wrote: "Is it not a pleasant tribute to the medical profession that by and large it has been able to manage its relations with its patients ... without the aid of lawyers and law makers". Medical interventions at the beginnings and the endings of life have rendered that assessment dated if not defeated. This book picks up some of the most important of those developments and reflects on the legal and social consequences of this metamorphosis over the past ten years, and will be of interest to students of law, sociology and ethics who want a considered and critical introduction to, and reflection on, key issues in these pivotal moments of human life.

Should surrogacy be allowed? What guidelines are needed to control in vitro fertilization programmes? What should we tell the children born in the wake of the 'reproduction revolution' about their origins? These are typical of the many issues addressed in a book which seeks to challenge the ethical basis for much of the legal regulation of matters surrounding birth. First published in hardback in spring 1989, Birthrights deals with a controversial area which continues to be at the centre of much public debate. The editors' new preface, especially written for the paperback edition, surveys important developments in legislation since the book's first publication.

Based on the "Guide to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990", this volume reviews the regulation of assisted conception including complex moral issues such as abortion, embryo research and cloning. It offers a comprehensive guide to the 1990 legislation as well as important legal and technical developments since that time.