can medical ethics be legislated? can a complex bioethical question be definitively answered through legislation? in july 1987 the new york state legislature experimented with legislating medical ethics by amending the states public health law to regulate `do not resuscitate orders. the consequent law was complex and remains controversial. this volume reviews both the background bioethical debates and the elements of the public policy making process that are essential to understanding new yorks experience with the dnr law. it features debates between leading exponents and critics of the law; case studies that examine the impact of new yorks dnr law on clinicians, hospitals and patients; and a review of all empirical studies of the law by their lead authors. appended to the volume is the new york state dnr law and a comprehensive set of background documents. the co-editors, robert baker and martin a. strosberg, are both professors at union college, schenectady, new york. they have collaborated on many projects including, rationing americas medical care: the oregon plan and beyond (brookings, 1992).