This work is a broad history of the growing field of bioethics. Covering the period 1947-1987, it examines the origin and evolution of the debates over human experimentation, genetic engineering, organ transplantation, termination of life-sustaining treatment, and new reproductive technologies.

PART I: BIOETHICAL BEGINNINGS: THE PEOPLE AND PLACES ; 1. Great Issues of Conscience: Medical Ethics before Bioethics ; 2. The Theologians: Rediscovering the Tradition ; 3. The Philosophers: Clarifying the Concepts ; 4. Commissioning Bioethics: The Government in Bioethics, 1974-1983 ; PART II: BIOETHICAL BEGINNINGS: THE PROBLEMS ; 5. Experiments Perilous: The Ethics of Research with Human Subjects ; 6. Splicing Life: Genetics and Ethics ; 7. The Miracle of Modern Medicine: The Ethics of Organ Transplantation and Artificial Organs ; 8. Who Should Live? Who Should Die? The Ethics of Death and Dying ; 9. O Brave New World! The Ethics of Human Reproduction ; PART III: DISCIPLINE, DISCOURSE AND ETHOS ; 10. Bioethics as a Discipline ; 11. Bioethics as a Discourse ; 12. Bioethics - American and Elsewhere

"Bioethics, Albert Jonsen observes in the introduction to his important, highly personal, and readable book, did not begin with a bang. But what becomes very clear as one reads his recollections of the origins of the field, is that it did not begin with people prone to emit whimpers...Jonsen brings an elephantine memory and a deft pen to telling the story of what happened when the first theologians, philosophers, and physicians found themselves out on these ethical frontiers of medicine without much in the way of intellectual tools to help them."--Arthur Kaplan in The Journal of the American Medical Association "Al Jonsen's warmth, humour and encyclopaedic knowledge of the American Bioethics scene are evident throughout, and, despite its size, the book rarely fails to be both informative and engaging." -Medicine, Healthcare and Philosophy "In The Birth of Bioethics Jonsen has written an in-depth review of bioethics, including a historical analysis of the field...This material should inform even sophisticated readers...Jonsen's depictions of the pioneers in bioethics whom he knew and worked with are vivid...Jonsen's unique insights, infused by the compassion he obviously feels, recommend this book strongly."--Edmund G. Howe in The New England Journal of Medicine "A 'must-read' for all students of bioethics, on either side of the lectern, and for anyone interested in contemporary American culture."--Felicia Cohn in Religious Studies Review "Albert Jonsen, a bioethics pioneer in his own right, is also a gifted writer of clear and arresting prose, a trait not widely found in bioethics circles. As part of a larger goal to evaluate the influence of the field of bioethics, Jonsen aims for "an accurate historical recounting of why and how the field came into being." The result is an intensely interesting history that will provoke many critical and constructive responses...it is a singular success..."--John C. Fletcher in Medical Humanities Review "As a remarkable scholarly achievement, Professor Jonsen's book will be of interest to those in the field, as well as those concerned more generally to know what US bioethics is, where it was, and where it might be going." --Associated Medical Services "This book is a narrative of the emergence of Bioethics in the United States in the period 1947 to 1987, written by one of the pioneers and major scholars in the field...this lengthy volume is rightly seen as the magnum opus of a single author, and it bears his distinctive stamp. Al Jonsen's warmth, humour and encyclopaedic knowledge of the American Bioethics scene are evident throughout, and despite its size, the book rarely fails to be both informative and engaging. It surely must be read by anyone interested in the transformation of traditional medical ethics in the last half of this century into the wide-ranging, multidisciplinary enterprise of Bioethics."--Alastair V. Campbell in Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy "Bioethics, Albert Jonsen observes in the introduction to his important, highly personal, and readable book, did not begin with a bang. But what becomes very clear as one reads his recollections of the origins of the field, is that it did not begin with people prone to emit whimpers...Jonsen brings an elephantine memory and a deft pen to telling the story of what happened when the first theologians, philosophers, and physicians found themselves out on these ethical frontiers of medicine without much in the way of intellectual tools to help them."--Arthur Kaplan in The Journal of the American Medical Association "As a remarkable scholarly achievement, Professor Jonsen's book will be of interest to those in the field, as well as those concerned more generally to know what US bioethics is, where it was, and where it might be going." --Associated Medical Services "Al Jonsen's warmth, humour and encyclopaedic knowledge of the American Bioethics scene are evident throughout, and, despite its size, the book rarely fails to be both informative and engaging." -Medicine, Healthcare and Philosophy "In The Birth of Bioethics Jonsen has written an in-depth review of bioethics, including a historical analysis of the field...This material should inform even sophisticated readers...Jonsen's depictions of the pioneers in bioethics whom he knew and worked with are vivid...Jonsen's unique insights, infused by the compassion he obviously feels, recommend this book strongly."--Edmund G. Howe in The New England Journal of Medicine "A 'must-read' for all students of bioethics, on either side of the lectern, and for anyone interested in contemporary American culture."--Felicia Cohn in Religious Studies Review "Albert Jonsen, a bioethics pioneer in his own right, is also a gifted writer of clear and arresting prose, a trait not widely found in bioethics circles. As part of a larger goal to evaluate the influence of the field of bioethics, Jonsen aims for "an accurate historical recounting of why and how the field came into being." The result is an intensely interesting history that will provoke many critical and constructive responses...it is a singular success..."--John C. Fletcher in Medical Humanities Review "This book is a narrative of the emergence of Bioethics in the United States in the period 1947 to 1987, written by one of the pioneers and major scholars in the field...this lengthy volume is rightly seen as the magnum opus of a single author, and it bears his distinctive stamp. Al Jonsen's warmth, humour and encyclopaedic knowledge of the American Bioethics scene are evident throughout, and despite its size, the book rarely fails to be both informative and engaging. It surely must be read by anyone interested in the transformation of traditional medical ethics in the last half of this century into the wide-ranging, multidisciplinary enterprise of Bioethics."--Alastair V. Campbell in Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy "Jonsen's richly detailed narrative in a valuable vantage point for understanding and welcoming these dialogues."--Chester R. Burns in Bulletin of the History of Medicine "No one has been assessing the first generation of bioethics mre diligently than Al Jonsen, who studied moral philosophy and religion as a Jesuit priest before leaving the church in the mid-1970s for full-time work as a professor of bioethics. Like many foundational figures who have been present at the creation of their fields, Jonsen can recall reams of useful details about his subject's early life, which he did in his Birth of Bioethics."--Robert Martensen in Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences