Introduction

• Author: Maureen A. McTeer
• Pages: 1-4

Introduction

M

edical science fascinates

and

frightens

us. It

promises

to

cure

disease

and

improve

the

quality

and

length

of our

lives.

It

allows

us to

imagine

a

society

where

all

children

are

born

healthy

and

where

the

diseases

of old age no

longer ravage

us.

Repro-

ductive

technology already helps

the

infertile

to

bear children,

and

genetic testing

is

available

for an

ever-growing number

of

serious dis-

eases.

Human tissue, organs,

and

even

limbs

can now be

successfully

transplanted. Genetically

engineered

animals

are

used

as

living labora-

tories

to

produce life-saving drugs,

and

huge advances

in

agricultural

biotechnology predict

an end to

world hunger.

In a

remarkable

few

years,

science

has

brought

us to the

threshold

of a new

era, with

its

promise

of a

better

life

— and its

concomitant maelstrom

of

legal

and

ethical dilemmas.

From

research

on

human embryos

to the

commercialization

of

life,

from

genetic testing

to

genetically engineered foods,

from

organ trans-

plants

to

assisted suicide

and

euthanasia, medical technology

now

touches

us

intimately

at

every stage

of our

lives.

It

gives

us

unprece-