The contemporary debate on applied ethics is very heated in the field of bioethical issues and life. These debates are not only theoretical but have great impact and influence on public policy and law. It is therefore very useful for students to grasp the different ethical theories and their epistemological and anthropological presuppositions, and critically contrast them with the Aristotelian-Thomistic natural law approach of personalist bioethics. By reading the main exponents of these different approaches, students are exposed to lay authors of bioethics. Areas of contention in bioethics are not only centered on life issues, but also pertain to visions of science and technology, faith and reason, politics and culture.