Medical Ethics

School Library Journal

Gr 7-12 A well-organized, timely cover age of the myriad ethical questions facing the medical profession today. Covering is sues that range from abortion to euthana sia, from use of life-support systems to organ transplants, Heintze deals seriously with serious questions. Many relevant and poignant examples of recent highly-publi cized cases, such as Baby Doe, Karen Ann Quinlan, and Elizabeth Bouvia are included. Terms are defined, and relevant statements, regulations, and procedures are cited or reproduced in part or in their entirety. Use of subheadings helps inter nal organization. Author bias is minimal (Heintze seems to feel that quality of life may be a larger issue than the right to life under any conditions). Black-and-white photos range in quality from average to poor. The index is not extensive, failing to include terms such as fetus and embryo , which are defined in the text. Overall, however, this is an extremely well done book which will be of great help to student researchers and of interest to general readers who are concerned with these is sues. Libraries already owning Weiss' Bioethics (Enslow, 1985) will find the two books similar in scope, content, reading level, and general quality. Catherine Wood, Shelburne Museum, Vt.