Physicians in rural settings confront many of the same ethical dilemmas as their urban counterparts: confidentiality, quality‐of‐life decisions, resource allocation, and their moral responsibility for bettering the life of the community. However, the courses of action they choose as morally justifiable are influenced by distance from other professional facilities, the interrelationship of private and professional roles in a small community, and the non‐specialized orientation of their practices.

Jehovah's Witnesses who refuse blood transfusions on religious grounds have long created ethical dilemmas for those in the medical profession trying to serve them. A bioethicist working in a clinical setting explores how one hospital ethics committee grappled with the additional problem of pregnant Jehovah's Witnesses, including the complex interdependence of maternal and fetal rights.