'Thin end of the wedge' arguments have conventionally been dismissed from the field of ethics. This book argues that moral philosophers cannot ignore the slippery slope.

A slippery slope' argument in medical ethics is one that opposes itself to a new proposal on the grounds that it is not per se intolerable but will lead to a situation that is. Lamb evaluates such arguments, demonstrating their centrality to the subject.

`It has the one ingredient that I find essential to any new book - the ability to fire enthusiasm. After reading it one is eager to go on in the subject, reading more widely, thinking again about the issues it raises, and perhaps applying some of the principles to one's own practice' - British Medical Journal