Medical Ethics Research Paper

BACKGROUND

With the incredible advances in medical research during the twentieth century, scientists are able to cure many diseases, operate on unborn fetuses, produce test tube babies, and transplant almost any organ. But what can be done and what should be done are totally different concepts. Most agree that scientific knowledge must be tempered with wisdom. Public debate over who should make these important decisions continues.

BROWSE FOR BOOKS ON THE SHELF USING THESE CALL NUMBERS

174.2—174.22

616—616.042

362.1

LOOK UNDER THE FOLLOWING SUBJECTS IN THE CATALOG (CARD OR COMPUTER)

Medical ethics

Bioethics

Medicine—Decision making

Ethics, Medical

REFERENCE MATERIALS THAT MAY HELP (BOOKS OR CD-ROMS)

Dunstan, Duncan, et al., eds. Dictionary of Medical Ethics, 1981.

Reich, Warren T., ed. Encyclopedia of Bioethics, 1995.

Walters, Leroy, and Tamar Joy Kahn. Bibliography of Bioethics, 1994.

PERIODICAL INDEXES TO SEARCH (BOOKS OR CD-ROMS)

EBSCO Magazine Article Summaries

InfoTrac

NewsBank and other newspaper indexes

Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature

SIRS (Social Issues Resources Series)

WILSONDISC

ONLINE DATABASES TO SEARCH

America Online

CompuServe
Dialog

Internet

Prodigy

KEY WORDS AND DESCRIPTORS FOR PERIODICAL INDEX AND ONLINE SEARCHES

Medical ethics

Bioethics

Ethics in medicine

VIDEOTAPES ON THIS TOPIC

Deadly Deception. Films for the Humanities and Sciences, 1993.

Right to Die: Final Choices. Health and Science Television Network, 1992.

NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS TO CONTACT FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

American Medical Association, 535 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL 60610.

Council for Responsible Genetics, 19 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138.

SUGGESTIONS FOR NARROWING THIS TOPIC

Discuss the use of technology to save lives of the terminally ill.

Investigate the use of genetic counseling.

Research the issue of allocation of scarce resources; e.g., organs for transplantation, rare blood types, drugs in short supply.

SUGGESTIONS FOR RELATED TOPICS

Abortion

Assisted suicide

Euthanasia

Genetic engineering

Health insurance

This RESEARCH TOPIC GUIDE is intended to help the library user find information and materials on a particular topic in many sources throughout the library. Resources on this topic are not limited to those described and availability will depend upon the individual library. Feel free to ask a librarian for assistance.