"In addition, a number of the earlier chapters have been thoroughly revised in light of current developments. The book is an addition to the library of anyone who is concerned about the interaction between modern medicine and Jewish law in the twenty-first century."--BOOK JACKET.

Ethical issues in modern medicine are of great concern and interest to all physicians and health-care providers throughout the world, as well as to the public at large. Jewish scholars and ethicists have discussed medical ethics throughout Jewish history.

"Duty and Healing" positions ethical issues commonly encountered in clinical situations within Jewish law. The concept of duty is significant in exploring bioethical issues, and this book presents an authentic and non-parochial Jewish approach to bioethics, while it includes critiques of both current secular and Jewish literatures. Among the issues the book explores are the role of family in medical decision-making, the question of informed consent as a personal religious duty, and the responsibilities of caretakers. The exploration of contemporary ethical problems in healthcare through the lens of traditional sources in Jewish law is an indispensable guide of moral knowledge.

Rabbi Bleich is one of the world's foremost authorities on the subject of Jewish perspectives on the ethical questions which arise in the wake of modern medical technology. In these essays, which are intended for all who are concerned with these issues, Rabbi Bleich covers such questions as the care of the terminally ill, including the vexing issue of whether the family may decide to withhold information from the person who is terminally ill, artificial insemination, genetic engineering the moral status of the handicapped. AIDS, and immoral medical experimentation.

In Matters of Life and Death, Dr. Elliot Dorff addresses this unavoidable confluence of medical technology and Jewish law and ethics. Dr. Dorff, who has been studying and consulting on biomedical ethics for more than thirty years, discusses modern medical ethical dilemmas from a specifically Conservative Jewish point of view. He includes issues such as artificial insemination, genetic engineering, cloning, surrogate motherhood, and birth control, as well as living wills, hospice care, euthanasia, organ donation, and autopsy.