Author Description

Biomedical Ethics Reviews: 1985 is the third volume in a series of texts designed to review and update the literature on issues of central impor tance in bioethics today. Four topics are discussed in the present volume: ( 1) Should citizens of the United States be permitted to buy, sell, and broker human organs? (2) Should sex preselection be legally proscribed? (3) What decision-making procedure should medical per sonnel employ in those cases where there is a high degree of uncer tainty? (4) What do we mean when we use the terms "health" and "disease"? Each topic constitutes a separate section in our text; intro ductory essays briefly summarize the contents of each section. Bioethics is, by its nature, interdisciplinary in character. Recognizing this fact, the authors represented in the present volume have made every effort to minimize the use of technical jargon. At the same time, we believe the purpose of providing a review of the recent literature, as well as of advancing bioethical discussion, is admirably served by the pieces collected herein. We look forward to the next volume in our series, and very much hope the reader will also.