This is the third volume of King's College Studies in medical law and ethics and covers the following topics: AIDS; contraception and family planning; human rights and the role of the judiciary in medical law; a national commission for medical ethics; defensive medicine and medical malpractice; the ethics of the allocation of resources in health care; and the legal status of the unborn. Within these diverse themes challenging ideas about rights and resources in contemporary society and medical practice are introduced and explored. The essays summarise existing debates and go on to discuss further these vital issues in medical law and ethics. The contributors are: Peter Byrne; Simon Lee, Lecturer in Law, King's College London; John Eekelaar, Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford; Roy Porter, Senior Lecturer in the Social History of Medicine, The Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, London; Dorothy Watkins, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at The Wellcome Institute; John Harris, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy in the Department of Education and Research Director of the Centre for Social Ethics and Policy, University of Manchester; John McEwan, Consultant and Senior Lecturer in Family Planning, King's College Hospital, London; Arnold Simanowitz, Director, Action for the Victims of Medical Accidents; Alexander Captron, Topping Professor of Law, Medicine and Public Policy, University of Southern California. All those concerned with medical ethics.