Before Bioethics: A History of American Medical Ethics from the Colonial Period to the Bioethics RevolutionBefore Bioethics narrates the history of American medical ethics from its colonial origins to current bioethical controversies over abortion, AIDS, animal rights, and physician assisted suicide. This comprehensive history tracks the evolution of American medical ethics over four centuries, from colonial midwives and physicians' oaths to medical society codes, through the bioethics revolution. Applying the concept of "morally disruptive technologies,"