The first edition of 1978 (cited in BCL3 and Sheehy ) was a major force in the establishment of the field of bioethics the interdisciplinary study of the ethical and moral dimensions of life sciences and health care. This revised edition contains 460 authoritative and highly accessible articles. It not only reexamines and expands upon the information contained in the first edition, but also adds many new topics, among them issues related to AIDS, the ethics of fetal research and genetic engineering, and sociopolitical issues such as interpersonal abuse, sexism, and the death penalty. Entries are arranged alphabetically, and often consist of multiple articles, addressing the issue at hand from different perspectives. Each article includes a bibliography and all articles are thoroughly cross-referenced. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or. Read Less