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9 Med., Health Care & Phil. 249 (2006)
Ethical Eye Series

handle is hein.journals/medhcph9 and id is 249 raw text is: Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy (2006) 9:249-251 DOI 10.1007/s11019-006-0012-5 © Springer 2006 Review Article Ethical Eye Series David Moyes Research Fellow at the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics, 15 Morningside Road, Edinburgh, EH1O 4DP, Scotland The Council of Europe, Ethical Eye Series, Volume 1-7. The Council of Europe's Ethical Eye series currently includes seven volumes covering six topics - The Human Genome, Cloning, Trans- plants, Euthanasia (over two volumes), Biomedical Research and Drug Addiction. The clear focus of this particular 'ethical eye', then, is bioethics, with only the most recent addition on drug addiction venturing beyond typical bioethical topics. The aims of the series are to outline the related ethical issues of the chosen topic, and to make the topic accessible to as wide an audience as possible, so that everyone can participate in the debate. The former identifies the series as an introductory series, although most of the volumes do burrow a good depth into each subject. The latter is a commendable aim, and a number of steps are taken to open up the topics to lay readers. Each volume begins with a broad introduction, taking in all areas of relevance, and often followed by a further more specific introductory chapter, outlin- ing the issues within the particular topic. The margins on each page are populated with text- notes as well as useful definitions of technical terms used in the text. The result is a series of introduc- tions that are suitable for the uninitiated, but which also contain particular essays of interest to those already involved in bioethics, bringing original perspectives and approaches. The first in the series, The Human Genome, begins with an introduction that takes in the full relevance of genetics, from medicine to spirituality, and this breadth of perspective continues through the volume with sections exploring the need for an ethical code in human genetics, the possibilities for predictive medicine and gene therapy, the involve- ment of industry in genome science, notions of genetic ownership, and a final essay on the issues genomics raises at 'the frontiers of humanity'. In terms of the ethical issues raised by genomics, the main focus is on the way genetic information will be used and the problems that may arise with the availability of genetic knowledge, but deeper ideas, such as what genomics says about the tension between human unity and diversity, are also covered. However in this volume the 'ethical eye' seems to skim over the topic somewhat, while it is the scientific eye that lingers longest, with the main bulk of the ethics concentrated in just two or three of the chapters. Volume two takes up the more provocative issue of cloning, delivering 10 essays on the subject, again with the aim of providing an in depth understanding of the science for those who do not already have it. This is successfully achieved in chapters on the history of cloning, and on the cloning of Dolly. As is pointed out numerous times, cloning is an ambiguous term, and this book in fact deals with the application of animal cloning to humans. There is a more substantial ethical focus, and a number of moral perspectives are brought together. Colin Tudge's essay, in which he rejects rule by expert, provides a refreshingly different perspective, taking a mature view of the relevance of religious belief and its place in moral history, and proposing that we implement technol- ogy inline with a pre-conceived view of what kind of world we want to live in, rather than having to adjust our lives according to the consequences of technology. Egbert Schroten's article also gets underneath the debate, asking if the technology is inherently unethical, and concluding that while it is not, prudential considerations alone justify a moratorium on human cloning. In this volume there is a clear recognition of the duality of bioethics - the meeting of the applied and the theoretical, of action and thought - which is acknowledged and represented throughout the series.

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