Playing God
As a writer in the field of medical ethics myself, it behoves me to know how others portray these issues in fiction, whether they be script writers or novelists, so I’ve been keeping a tally for many years now.
The authors and editor of Playing God: Talking about Ethics in Medicine and Technology have clearly travelled a similar path, and it was this little book recently that took me back to my lists and collection of DVDs.
The sheer number of films surprised me, so by way of a change I thought I’d give you a summary of those I’ve noted which contribute an angle on the topics that fascinate me – alphabetically rather than supposed order of importance. Where possible I’ll link to the official trailers to give you a glimpse of what they’re like.
abortion:
assisted conception:
Maybe Baby (link to trailer not permitted in the UK)
cloning:
decisions about treatment:
dementia:
disease control:
drug use/misuse:
euthanasia/assisted death:
human experimentation:
medical paternalism/informed consent:
mental illness:
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
organ transplantation:
 patient rights and medical malpractice:
research malpractice:
saviour siblings/designer babies:
Wow! I’d have really appreciated this steer when I started out! But there again, maybe I value them more because I’ve accumulated them slowly over the years. If you know of others please do let me know. Just add a comment to this post or contact me via my website. 
Occupational hazard The miracles of modern medicine
Just thought you might like to know there was a telemovie in the 1980s about abortion (my area of interest) called Roe vs Wade starring Hollie Hunter. It was a very famous case in 1971 that opened the way for mid trimester abortions to be performed in America. It was at a time when there was a lot of conflict about abortion. Roe was Norma McCorvey
‘The interesting thing about this case is that Norma McCorvey has since come forward and changed sides on the abortion debate. In 1997, McCorvey started Roe No More, a pro-life outreach organization’. http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/04/us/roe-v-wade-fast-facts/ (Ref)
Thanks for the update, Heather. All helps to underline the complexity and emotional toll these dilemmas present in real life.