englischCryopreservation of unfertilised oocytes constitutes a relatively new technology for the preservation of female fertility. This procedure is being increasingly utilised without any existing medical indications (‘social egg freezing’). Based on an empirical and legal analysis, this book tries [...]

englischThis book focuses on two major challenges currently facing hospitals: On the one hand, it considers our increasingly ageing society because this is reflected in an increasing number of patients with age-related diseases, such as dementia. On the other hand, it analyses the fact that [...]

englischThe technologies of ‘digital health’ will fundamentally transform the building of relationships in healthcare and the social relationships of ageing people. This volume is devoted to three ethical and legal areas of tension. In the area of tension between personal dignity and digital care, [...]

englischHuman research is fundamentally indispensable when it comes to ensuring adequate medical treatment. However, research becomes controversial when people incapable of making decisions are included in clinical trials. This conference volume examines this question with regard to two types of [...]

englischThe ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has confronted us with constantly new challenges. We need to browse new inventories of scientific knowledge to reflect on previous experiences and thus facilitate societal learning. In line with the first volume on the COVID-19 pandemic in this series, [...]

englischModern notions about old age and care are often expressed in ambivalent imagery that predominantly refers to the shortcomings of elderly people. Notions of old age are an element of a society’s knowledge base: as part of the order of knowledge or of knowledge cultures. The development of age [...]

englischThe phenomenon of increasing optimisation and transformation of the human body using modern biotechnologies is encountered in various fields. In addition to interference with the human genome, attempts to merge man and machine are becoming increasingly important. Since the idea of an [...]

englischThe COVID-19 pandemic has led to radical interventions in healthcare and social life, the efficiency and appropriateness of which are now increasingly at the centre of controversy. In this volume, renowned scientists, academics and experts from a wide range of disciplines reflect and comment [...]

englischAlthough legally protected as a profession in its own right, nursing is still subject to tensions between doctors, patients and their relatives. This conference volume addresses images of nursing and related ethical principles on the one hand, and discusses the specific challenges of the [...]

englischHealthcare at an advanced age and at the end of one’s life is increasingly characterised by an entrepreneurial spirit, which in turn is guided by economic principles. It remains questionable whether organising the end of one’s life based on efficiency criteria leaves sufficient room for [...]

englischIs it ethical to exclude ill people from medical treatment because it is too expensive? And vice versa, how can the healthcare system be financially sustainable if everybody receives all the effective medical treatment available irrespective of its costs. While rationing of healthcare and [...]

englischModern end-of-life care is being increasingly characterised by institutionalisation, economisation and rapid technological advancement. Compiled in three parts, the contributions in this anthology explore whether guaranteeing a person’s individuality and dignity is at all possible during the [...]

englischJustice issues in the healthcare sector are gaining increased urgency in the light of rising medical costs, an ageing society as well as the tides of migration that have been increasing recently. How can we allocate scarce medical resources as justly as possible, and what role do traditional [...]

englischDiagnosing dementia is a critical issue in modern society, as it questions central values such as rationality, functionality and autonomy. The impending loss of autonomy and freedom of action often poses an existential challenge to the person concerned. How should one cope with the gradual [...]

englischPresent biomedical progress is fascinating and without doubt promotes welfare and reduces suffering in many ways. Nevertheless, it has to be asked in how far the modern individual is more a captive of its practical imperatives than an enlightened, conscious and responsible consumer of its [...]

englischThe contributions in this volume address the growing ethical challenges regarding forms of assisted suicide, as well as their limitations. Experts from medical ethics, palliative care, theology and social sciences discuss, amongst others, the following issues: How can requests for [...]