This key collection addresses issues arising in biomedical and medical ethics ranging from assisted reproductive technologies to the role of clinical ethics committees. It examines broader societal issues with particular emphasis on sustainability and the environment and also focuses on issues of human rights in current global contexts.

Contents: Introduction, Jennifer Gunning, Søren Holm. Bioethics: Human tissue research, individual rights and bio-banks, Henriette Roscam Abbing; Umbilical cord cell banking: a surprisingly controversial issue, Jennifer Gunning; Assisted reproduction in the Republic of Ireland – A legal quagmire, Deirdre Madden; Practical ethics in search of a toolbox: Ethics of science and technology at the crossroads, Matthias Kaiser; The Meanings of Genetics, Yulia Egorova; Family Decision Making – A Victim to the Hegemony of Autonomy?, Søren Holm; Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC): Ethical Process, Karen Birmingham and Michael Furmston. Ethics and Society: Restrictive or Engaging: redefining public health promotion, Andreas Hasman; Enemies of Mankind, Gerry Simpson; Conserving cultural material: ethical challenges for the conservator, David Watkinson; Farming and food research: participation and the public good, Tom Macmillan and Shaila Seshia; Do mention the war : children and media coverage of traumatic events, Màire Messenger Davies; Reducing Rights in the Name of Convention Compliance: Mental Health Law Reform and the New Human Rights Agenda, Philip Fennell; The Impact of Leadership on Public Policy in Africa: Problems and Opportunities, Kelechi A Kalu; The Child and family policy divide, Clem Henricson; Children and Family Breakdown, Gillian Douglas; The Impact of Discrimination on Children, Elspeth Webb; Building Resilience: Helping Vunerable Children Cope, Tony Newman. Business and Professional Ethics: The International Financial War Against Terrorism: Myths and reality, Donato Masciandro; Ethics and advertising, Geoffrey Klempner; Self regulation and the market for legal services, Richard Moorhead; Corporate responsibility for children's diets, Tom Macmillan, Elizabeth Dowler and David Archard; Do toy companies really care about children? evaluating the ethics of the toy industry, Steve Hogan. Commentaries: A taste of the Orange Revolution: Ukraine and the spirit of constitutionalism, Dr Jiri Priban; Seroxat – the power of the pharmaceutical industry. the case for a better way to research, licence and regulate medicines, Dr Sarah-Jane Richards; Doha developments: the July package and agriculture, Julian Kinderlerer and Christian Lopez Silva; Lawyers and ethicists should be careful when talking about the permission of torture, Søren Holm; You pays your money and you takes your choice?, Joy Wingfield; Life after death: my life after a heart and lung transplant, Nicola Langlands; The Human Rights Act: is it working, Phil Thomas; Rebuilding Iraq requires rule of law revival, Jason Söderblom; Expert witnesses on trial, Cathy Cobley and Dr Tom Sanders; Bhopal: the disaster continues, Peter Wells; Index.

'This provocative and wide ranging book will interest both readers well versed in the study of ethics and those new to the field. Some chapters give a different perspective on well discussed topics like consent to medical treatment. For example, should decisions sometimes be made by families, rather than by individuals; and how should one balance the protection of vulnerable children with their rights to be involved in making decisions that affect them? Other chapters focus on the ethics of contemporary issues like war crimes trials, research on the human genome and conservation of cultural materials. Some are particularly innovative, such as the ethics of umbilical cord cell banking, and the ethics of the toy industry. The book provides stimulating reading and a source for new ideas and scholarship.' Loane Skene, University of Melbourne, Australia 'This book is essential reading for anyone with interest in the broader area of ethics, law and society. The collection of papers covers a range of issues, likely to interest the expanding multidisciplinary readership. In providing a snapshot of current dilemmas and thinking the book embraces a more general, wide-ranging picture, which is likely to be of importance both as a knowledge-base, as point of departure for debate, and as a source of inspiration for future creative scholarship.' Linda Nielsen, University of Copenhagen, Denmark