Bridging problems and models in medical ethics: four images of local ethics committees

In the context of the continuing debate about how ethics committees in Italy should be structured (see Bulletin 160) Professor Incorvati, from the Comitato Nazionale per la Bioetica in Rome, considers four theoretical models of how such committees may be arranged, and why one in particular looks better placed to face the growing ethical problems that are emerging as a result of current developments in medicine.