Bioethics at the Movies explores the ways in which popular films engage basic bioethical concepts and concerns. Twenty-one philosophically grounded essays use cinematic tools such as character and plot development, scene setting, and narrative framing to demonstrate a range of principles and topics in contemporary medical ethics.

The first two sections plumb popular and bioethical thought on birth, abortion, genetic selection, and personhood through several films, including The Cider House Rules, Citizen Ruth, Gattaca, and I, Robot. In the third...