How we deal with the possibilities offered by modern medicine is a matter that concerns us all. The doctor and philosopher Bettina Schöne-Seifert examines twelve current controversial topics – including assisted suicide, advance directives for dementia, organ donation, surrogacy and AI in medicine. Each topic is introduced with a short fictional story, followed by factual background information, before the actual controversies are explored. What are the contentious issues? What are the arguments? Which are convincing? The volume concludes with fundamental reflections on self-determination, paternalism and the common good in medicine. Strong opinions and proposed conclusions from the author, who served as a member of the German Ethics Council, invite readers to reflect and weigh up the issues. Bettina Schöne-Seifert presents medical ethics as both a subject for reflection and a challenge.

This book addresses current issues in medical ethics – such as abortion, assisted dying and compulsory vaccination – which affect us personally or, at the very least, someone in our immediate circle, through two approaches. One is legal-philosophical in nature and provides an overview of current theoretical debates. The second, closely interwoven approach is a practical one, which explores how these debates are applied in real-life contexts through concrete examples. This combination helps us view internal and societal conflicts with greater detachment, recognise intrinsic contradictions and thereby gain a sense of personal agency that arises more from reflection than from feelings of guilt or implicit values.

Bettina Schöne-Seifert is a doctor and philosopher. From 2003 to 2023, she held the Chair of Medical Ethics at the University of Münster. She was a founding member of the National Ethics Council, established in 2001, and of its successor, the German Ethics Council. From the perspective of liberal ethics and evidence-based medicine, she has regularly contributed to public debates. Her most recent publication for a general readership is “Beim Sterben helfen – dürfen wir das?“ [“Helping People to Die – Are We Allowed to Do That?”] (2020).