Designed to challenge the ethical basis for much of the legal regulation of matters surrounding birth, this series of essays explores such controversial topics as whether surrogacy should be allowed, and what guidelines are needed to control in vitro fertilization programmes.

This unique collection focuses on the legal and ethical issues surrounding the medico-legal handling of death. It highlights the tension between personal autonomy and medical responsibility.

Based on the "Guide to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990," this volume reviews the regulation of assisted conception including complex moral issues such as abortion, embryo research and cloning. It offers a comprehensive guide to the 1990 legislation as well as important legal and technical developments since that time.

Thirty years ago, English jurist Patrick Devlin wrote: "Is it not a pleasant tribute to the medical profession that by and large it has been able to manage its relations with its patients ... without the aid of lawyers and law makers."

Medical interventions at the beginnings and the endings of life have rendered that assessment dated if not defeated.

This book picks up some of the most important of those developments and reflects on the legal and social consequences of this metamorphosis over the past ten years, and will be of interest to students of law, sociology and...