First published in 1997, this volume explores how we live in a society which is developing beyond human experience and comprehension - fast. Advances in technology and medicine are profoundly affecting the manner of human living from the beginning through to the end of life. These advances present exciting and demanding challenges to law-makers, policy-makers and healthcare providers, who make decisions about genetics, human reproduction, competence, medical treatment priorities and dying. They also compel us to pay attention to human rights. This international collection of essays combines the thoughts and ideas of women scholars writing about these complex developments and aims at provoking debate and dissension as well as an opportunity for reflection. The writers explore a range of common themes in different areas and provide a coherent framework for law and policy-making, to serve as a foundation for the challenges ahead.