Pregnancy, once the most private of concerns, has become the center of public controversy. Contraceptives, abortion, fetal alcohol syndrome, and related issues have put the debate in the headlines, in the courts, and on the streets. Ruth Macklin, professor of bioethics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, has worked with medical students and professionals to suggest intelligent ways of thinking through the moral obligations they face in their daily work, defining the philosophical principles that doctors and patients face when confronted with such issues as suffering, choosing who receives care, and allowing dignity to the dying. In this program with Bill Moyers, Macklin explores the philosophical problems that can confront any of uspatient and family, parent and child, the living and dyingat any time. (52 minutes)
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