This article examines the ethical basis for government involvement in health care. It first
provides the case for individual autonomy, focusing on the justifications–particularly ethical …

Most work in medical ethics across the last twenty-five years has centered on the ethics of
clinical medicine. Even work on health and justice has, in the main, been concerned with the …

In both the policy1 and academic2 literatures, the issue of extending patient choice in the UK
National Health Service (NHS) is currently a much discussed issue. From December 2005 …

Lifestyle diseases constitute an increasing proportion of health problems and this trend is
likely to continue. A better understanding of the responsibility argument is important for the …

In the first place, the increasing costs of health care, a problem for most if not all
industrialized countries. To a significant degree the expenses are related to decisions and …

Attention to individual choice is a valuable dimension of public health policy; however, the
creation of effective public health programmes requires policy makers to address the …

It is widely recognized that there is a discrepancy between principle and practice with
respect to the health equity aim of public policy. This discrepancy is analyzed from two …

Considerations of autonomy and independence, properly understood, support strictly
egalitarian provision of necessary medical treatment. If the financially better-off can …

In recent debates about the distribution of healthcare resources, the notion of individual
responsibility for health has received an increasing amount of attention, in philosophical …

In this special issue, Bioethics explores the ethical issues that relate to the social
determinants of health. As the articles demonstrate, the recognition that social factors help to …