Who Says You're Dead?: Medical & Ethical Dilemmas for the Curious & Concerned

by Jacob M. Appel MD

Overview

“An original, compelling, and provocative exploration of ethical issues in our society, with thoughtful and balanced commentary. I have not seen anything like it.” —Alan Lightman, author of Einstein’s Dreams 

Drawing upon the author’s two decades teaching medical ethics, as well as his work as a practicing psychiatrist, this profound and addictive little book offers up challenging ethical dilemmas and asks readers, What would you do?

• A daughter gets tested to see if she’s a match to donate a kidney to her father. The test reveals that she is not the man’s biological daughter. Should the doctor tell the father? Or the daughter?
• A deaf couple prefers a deaf baby. Should they be allowed to use medical technology to ensure they have a child who can’t hear? 
• Who should get custody of an embryo created through IVF when a couple divorces? 
• Or, when you or a loved one is on life support, Who says you’re dead?

In short, engaging scenarios, Dr. Appel takes on hot-button issues that many of us will confront: genetic screening, sexuality, privacy, doctor-patient confidentiality. He unpacks each hypothetical with a brief reflection drawing from science, philosophy, and history, explaining how others have approached these controversies in real-world cases. Who Says You’re Dead? is designed to defy easy answers and to stimulate thought and even debate among professionals and armchair ethicists alike.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781616209223
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	10/08/2019
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	253,897
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Jacob M. Appel is a physician, attorney, and bioethicist who serves as an attending psychiatrist in the Mount Sinai Healthcare System. He teaches ethics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where he is Director of Ethics Education in Psychiatry and a member of the Institutional Review Board. Appel has been a regular ethics columnist for Huffington Post and Opposing Views, and writes a monthly bioethics column for Education Update. A frequent lecturer on bioethical issues, Appel’s essays relating to bioethics have appeared in the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, and many other outlets. When not engaged in bioethics, Appel writes fiction: He has published novels, short fiction collections, and prize-winning stories.

Editorial Reviews

Appel's scenario approach works well, as readers are challenged to weigh the morality of decisions in our increasingly complex medical world. An easy-to-digest compendium of bioethical issues that provides plenty of food for thought.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“A fascinating and thought-provoking book that should appeal to everyone—doctors, patients, and cloned Neanderthals alike.”
—A. J. Jacobs, bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically

“Important and provocative. Physician, lawyer, and bioethicist: what a perfect trifecta for the author of a book on ethical issues in medicine.  I read it from start to finish in one sitting.”
—Jon LaPook, M.D., Chief Medical Correspondent, CBS News
 
“Dr. Appel adroitly places the dangerous flames of ethical dilemmas into a terrarium for careful examination so we don’t burn ourselves.”
—Mehmet Oz, M.D, Professor of Surgery, Columbia University, host or The Dr. Oz Show
 
“Dr. Appel in his extraordinary book has done a service for the public and health professionals by clearly illustrating the present and evolving medical ethical issues before us. This is a provocative and informative read for all!”
—Richard Carmona, MD,MPH,FACS, 17th Surgeon General of the United States
 
“The most thorough set of challenges in tightly reasoned and highly readable scenarios that should be read not only by students and teachers, but by every member of Congress before they vote on issues with ethical implications, which is nearly every vote.  An important contribution to philosophy and science. I dare you to try a few.”
—Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic Magazine, monthly columnist Scientific American, author The Moral Arc
 
“This book will enliven your dinner conversation for months to come. Not only is Who Says You're Dead? a lot of fun; its topic—how technology and ethics co-evolve—is of the utmost importance.”
—William Poundstone, author of Head in the Cloud: Why Knowing Things Still Matters When Facts Are So Easy to Look Up
 
“I couldn’t put it down. Dr. Appel offers analyses that are spot on! Every medical student should be made to read this book.  Whether compelling them to do that is ethical or not is an easy choice.”
—Joe Schwarcz, host of “The Dr. Joe Show” and author of A Feast of Science
 
“Who Says You're Dead? entertains as it educates.  Dr. Appel ranges from organ transplantation to embryo custody to voluntary castration and confidentiality laws and, yes, even to the cloning of Neanderthals.  It is an exotic journey, and strongly recommended.”
—E. Fuller Torrey, author of Emerging Brains, Emerging Gods
 
“Jacob Appel is a doctor, lawyer, bio-ethicist, and terrific writer—the perfect person to pose fascinating ethical conundrums and guide us toward practical answers. The biggest messes in modern medicine result when medical technology outpaces medical ethics. This lively book helps right the balance.”
—Allen Frances, MD, chair of the DSM-IV Task Force and author of Saving Normal
 
“When life seems too simple or dull, open this book. Pick a conundrum, any conundrum. Within a few minutes, you'll be transported into imagining your life as impossibly complex and your decisions absolutely vital. This is a fascinating exercise.”
—Jay Allison, producer and host of NPR’s This I Believe

From the Publisher

2019-08-18
How would you act when presented with medical cases that raise serious bioethical concerns?

That is the question Appel (Surrendering Appomattox, 2019, etc.) poses in a series of 79 short takes drawn from news headlines, medical literature, and his own background as a psychiatrist, professor of bioethics, and director of Ethics Education in Psychiatry at Mount Sinai. The author presents each scenario in a succinct paragraph, often using an amusing name for the fictitious doctor—Jekyll, Dolittle, Hawkeye Pierce—followed by a discussion that includes current laws, regulations, or policies, which, he is quick to point out, may be nonexistent or vary from state to state. Then it's up to readers to ponder what to do. Do you tell the daughter of the father who needs a kidney transplant that not only is she not a match, but that she is not his biological daughter? Do you report to your professional society that your current patient says she slept with her former therapist? What about the corporate executive who has a brain tumor but who tells the world he is in top form when a merger is in the making? Appel notes that bioethical issues have only gotten more complex as technology accelerates—e.g., what to do with the frozen embryos of divorcing couples? End-of-life issues have gotten more complicated, as well. If nothing else, they are a reminder of the importance of establishing advance directives or living wills. Without that guidance, there can be a clash between relatives valuing the sanctity of life over those arguing for the quality of life. The result may be a quadriplegic patient permanently tied to a ventilator. Throughout, Appel's scenario approach works well, as readers are challenged to weigh the morality of decisions in our increasingly complex medical world.

An easy-to-digest compendium of bioethical issues that provides plenty of food for thought.

Kirkus Reviews