Bioethics is an umbrella field dedicated to understanding the complexities of ethical issues in medicine and research. In bioethics, moral dilemmas are analyzed through the perspectives of law, philosophy, history, economics, public health, society, and medicine on domestic and global fronts.
The development of bioethics stems from various noteworthy events in history such as the creation of the 1949 Nuremberg Code in response to unethical Nazi experiments on prisoners, the Tuskegee Syphilis scandal of the 1930-1970's, and the 1962 Seattle God Committee that was tasked with screening applicants for dialysis access for the first time. These are only a few of the events which fueled the evolution of bioethics over time to guide us through controversial and challenging advancements in technology, science, and clinical practices.
Notable documents and works to the field of bioethics include:
Principles of Biomedical Ethics (1985) - Childress & Beauchamp
Helsinki Declaration of the World Medical Association (1964)
45 CFR 46: Protection of Human Subjects (2009)
Here is a great talk about "Why Bioethics Matters", given by Dr. Robert Klitzman, Director of Masters in Bioethics at Columbia University School of Professional Studies.