Bioethics and Medical Issues in Literature

Bioethical and medical issues are among the most important concerns facing society today. Yet many of these contemporary debates have been anticipated and addressed in literary works. Designed to meet the needs of high school students, as well as college students or those in the health care field, this reference defines and situates major bioethical and medical issues in accessible literature ranging from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) to Margaret Edson's Wit (1999). Included are discussions of such topics as cloning, bioterrorism, organ transplants, genetics, obesity and heart disease, AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases, and civil rights. Chapters are devoted to broad categories, with each chapter discussing two major literary works.

About the Author

MAHALA YATES STRIPLING is an independent scholar who lectures widely at such places as Yale Medical School and the University of Texas Medical Branch, and who publishes extensively in medical humanities journals. Her work has appeared in The Journal of Medical Humanities, Medical Humanities Review, Studies in Psychoanalytic Theory, and other publications.