The direct mail campaigns of powerful animal rights lobbies and their tactics against animal laboratories demonstrate where they stand. Equally compelling are those who argue that medical progress and consumer safety are enhanced by research using animals. This book focuses on the clash of opposing positions in this national debate.
Since 1997, when Oregon enacted a law permitting physician-assisted suicide, the public debate over end-of-life issues has turned in a new direction. The result has been renewed emphasis on hospice, palliative care, the spiritual needs of the dying, and on advanced directives to settle legal matters. This book addresses these four critical issues.
Addresses the conflict between the protection of civil liberties and the maintenance of national security in the face of terrorist threats. Aiming to make a balanced presentation of the issues, this collection of articles contains selections ranging from the ACLU's critique of the USA Patriot Act to a defense by its chief architect.
The transformation of society brought about by the wide dispersion of computers has given rise to moral dilemmas. This is a collection of twenty-six essays, which offer answers to the ethical questions raised by the interaction of people and computers.
What is it like to experience disability? What are the prevailing cultural attitudes toward those who experience disability? How do social norms and public policies affect those experiencing disability? This book provides an introduction to the wealth of social, political, and ethical debates that surround the disabled.
Whether it be disconnecting life-support systems, or choosing not to resuscitate, administering a lethal overdose, the public is divided: should these actions be viewed as "mercy killing", or are they acts of murder pure and simple? This book presents selections that help clear away the clouds of confusion churning at the centre of this debate.
Many hate crimes such as an armed assault on a Jewish community centre in Los Angeles, have been linked to white supremacists and are painful reminders that violent bigotry remains stubbornly entrenched in American culture. This work features a collection of essays which explore the definitions, origins, and outcomes of intolerance in America.
Offers essays on four key issues: the causes of homosexuality, disputes about the role the courts should play, gays and the military, and religious attitudes toward homosexuality.
Focusing on the debate that centres on the teaching of Intelligent Design (ID) versus conventional evolutionary theory, this book contains articles from the proponents of both sides of this issue. It also includes a section on the origins of the debate with excerpts from the writings of Charles Darwin and William Paley.
