Playing God In The Nursery

A prize-winning journalist examines the legal, social, moral, scientific, and economic implications of decisions to withhold treatment from severely handicapped newborns and surveys the attitudes of parents, doctors, nurses, bioethicists, as well as adults and children directly affected by the problem

Could science one day 'defeat death'? What would alien contact mean for humanity? Has medicine finally found a cure for sadness? Will AI replace us? For too long, the 'science and religion' debate has fixated on creation, evolution, cosmology, miracles and quantum theory. But this, argue Nick Spencer and Hannah Waite, is a mistake. Religious belief has survived, and thrived, under many different models of the universe. It was never intended to be a competing explanation for the science of any age. Where science and religion really do come together - sometimes furiously, sometimes fruitfully - is over the status and nature of the human. And that has never been more important than today. Whether it's the quest for immortality or the search for alien life, the treatment of pandemics or 'animal personhood', AI or mental health, abortion or genetic editing, science is making advances that are posing huge questions about what it means to be human, whether we should change ourselves, and how far we should 'play God'. These developments are only going to grow in significance. Playing God brings readers up to date with the latest developments but also draws out their moral and religious dimensions. In so doing, it shows how the future of science and religion is inextricably tied up with the future of humanity.

An ideal introduction to health care ethics for students who are unfamiliar with the subject area. Author-ethicists Michael Panicola, David Belde, John Paul Slosar, and Mark Repenshek have crafted a text grounded in rich theological and philosophical traditions and presented in an engaging manner. This text provides students with an understanding of the foundational aspects of health care ethics and leads them into a discussion of contemporary issues through the use of timely and challenging case studies. A unique focus on discernment and decision making brings the material to life for students.

Technology evolves at a dazzling speed in the field of genetic engineering. The public hasn't had much say in advancements in human genetics. This asks why and explores social forces leading to thinning out of public debate over genetic engineering.

Prenatal genetic testing has changed the circumstances under which parents choose what pregnancies to carry to term. Some have predicted that as a result of parents’ choices, people with Down syndrome will disappear from our communities in the near future. Chris Kaposy, a bioethicist who has a son with Down syndrome, reflects on parenting his son in the midst of this supposed disappearance. Writing from a pro-choice, disability-positive perspective, Kaposy presents some of the decades-old bioethical controversies involving children with Down syndrome, illustrating a prehistory of disappearance that has shaped current attitudes toward intellectual disability. Layered throughout this history are elements of Kaposy’s personal experience with his son and family. Transcending monograph and memoir, The Beautiful Unwanted draws creatively upon the past and the present, upon myth, history, science, and personal stories, to present the world of families that include children with Down syndrome from a series of uncommon perspectives. This account encompasses the changeling myths of Newfoundland, the “discovery” of Down syndrome by John Langdon Down and Jérôme Lejeune, and the twentieth-century experience of institutionalization, as well as recent advances in reproductive technology. We must recognize that we have some control over the future, Kaposy argues, and we must ask what kind of future we want for those who have intellectual disabilities. The Beautiful Unwanted poses this question in a way that is engaging, often bewildering, and always fascinating.

This new series of books brings thoughtful, biblically informed perspectives to contemporary issues in bioethics. Whether exploring abortion, assisted suicide, genetic engineering, or other controversial issues in bioethics, these volumes provide principled discussion of the ethical implications of today's medical and scientific breakthroughs. Extremely useful to students, scholars, and general readers alike, these volumes are ideal for classroom use -- in nontheological as well as theological settings.This excellent text offers a broad-based introduction to the field of bioethics. Scott Rae and Paul Cox provide an assessment of various secular approaches to bioethics that are particularly influential today, and develop a framework for a Christian approach meant to assist people in addressing the many pressing issues in the field.Though touching on the numerous debated issues in bioethics, the authors are primarily concerned here to give an account of the central theological notions crucialto an informed Christian perspective on bioethics. Their work makes a stimulating and substantial contribution to a Christian bioethic that can effectively engage the pluralistic culture in which health care is practiced today.

This book examines the many ethical issues related to health and health care in children. It describes the field of Pediatric ethics, a unique and important aspect of the discipline of bioethics, the study of moral conduct in health care and the rational process for determining the best course of action in the face of conflicting choices. The book begins with an exploration of what it means to be a child in America and the unique kinship relationships and obligations engendered by the decision of parents to have a child, and it examines ethical principles and professional obligations related to the care of children. Each of the chapters in the book focuses on important ethical concerns. It begins with ethical issues in creating babies using reproductive technologies, and then continues with an analysis of the ethical issues in labor and delivery of a child. The book continues with an in depth analysis of the many hard choices faced by families and clinicians in the care of critically ill neonates, and then goes on to describe current controversies in caring for older children who are dying and their families, as well as ethical issues concerning adolescents, research ethics as it relates to children, issues concerning genetic testing, screening and biobanking, and surgical and medical enhancement of children. Each chapter has case examples to illustrate the real life concerns of patients, families and clinicians. The book is intended for students in pediatrics and ethics, as well as for practicing clinicians, and interested families.

Nathan suffered a brain injury at the hands of the doctor who delivered him. The family was told there was no hope—he would never eat nor drink, he would never walk nor talk, and he would die before he was seven. Read his mother’s thoughts as she finds out that her newborn baby has been hurt and that the injury was man-made. Follow Nathan as he overcomes obstacles in his life. Rejoice with him as he surpasses expectations. Love him as he touches the hearts of many.