Drawing the Line: Life, Death, and Ethical Choices in an American Hospital.

In the summer of 1985 philosopher Samuel Gorovitz spent seven weeks observing the activities of Boston's Beth Israel Hospital. Officially titled a Visiting Scholar in Residence, he was granted unlimited access throughout the facility. This book is a series of observational pieces discussing do not resuscitate (DNR) orders, transplantations, abortions, fetal-tissue reseach, allocation of scarce medical resources, and the care of persons who are very old and very ill. He addresses the lack of communication between doctors and...