On the coattails of a progressive US President, a number of “progressive” bioethicists have entered the Obama administration. What this highly politicised term means is hard to know, but progressive bioethics will clearly be a force to contend with for the next three years in US healthcare.

A new book from MIT Press, Progress in Bioethics, promises to shed some light on the future. Both co-editors are accredited progressives. Jonathan Moreno, of the University of Pennsylvania, scrutinised the Bush Administration's bioethics council as a member of President Obama’s transition team and is a senior fellow of the Center for American Progress. Sam Berger used to work at the Center.

The chapter authors, leading scholars in the field, discuss the meaning of progressive bioethics, the rise of conservative bioethics, the progressive stance toward biotechnology, the interplay of progressive bioethics and religion, and progressive approaches to such specific policy issues as bioethics commissions, stem-cell research, and health care reform.

According to the publisher, “Progress in Bioethics is the first book to debate the meaning of progressive bioethics”. Sounds like required reading. It will be released early next year.