Examines current issues in the field of bioethics by considering a number of dilemmas raised by current bio-medical developments. Introduces the main streams of ethical theory used in contemporary bioethics debates, primarily utilitarianism, deontology, virtue ethics and ethics of care, as a platform for philosophical discussion of a number of controversial bioethical issues. Issues addressed may include the doctrine of the sanctity of human life and the concept of the person, brain death, organ transplanting, abortion, stem cell research, new genetic technologies, reproductive technologies, euthanasia, and the principle of informed consent in biomedical research.