Bioethics in a liberal society / Max Charlesworth.

New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University Press, 1993.

172 pages ; 22 cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Autonomy and the liberal ideal -- Idea of autonomy -- Liberal society -- Critics of the liberal ideal -- Ending life -- Ethics of suicide -- Moral right to die? -- Decriminalising suicide -- Multicultural attitudes to death and dying -- Choosing for those who cannot choose for themselves -- Quality of life -- Liberal society and the right to die -- Death and the hospital -- Beginning life -- New ways of birth and family formation -- Bearing a child for another -- Questions about surrogacy -- Consequences of surrogacy -- Feminist views on reproductive technology -- Third wave feminist views -- Social and legal implications -- Distributing health-care resources -- Problem of scarce resources -- Utilitarian approaches -- Health system in a liberal society -- Patient and physician -- Health-care resource allocations: four examples -- Reaching community consensus -- Two forms of community consultation -- Limits to planning -- Consensus in a liberal society -- Liberal idea and bioethical realities -- Ethical agreement in a multicultural society.