A Letter From the Publisher

By Richard B. Thomas

TIME's editors have observed an increasing number of stories that involve a conflict between modern scientific and social trends on the one hand and traditional values on the other. The list of such subjects is long. It includes everything from test-tube conception to right-to-die legislation, insider trading to South African sanctions. In many cases, despite detailed coverage and full public discussion of opposing views, urgent moral and philosophical questions linger and continue to trouble the American conscience.

To focus on these questions of right and wrong, the editors have decided to create a new section of the magazine called Ethics. The section is being launched this week with a story on the bitter custody battle between the surrogate mother of New Jersey's Baby M. and the biological father and his wife.

Says Managing Editor Jason McManus: "Americans are arguing the shoulds and should-nots of issues as seldom before. In part, this is because our society and our technology have so increased the range of what is possible, whether it is prolonging life or profiting illicitly in the stock market. In some cases, ancient moral precepts address the problem; in others, wholly new ethical concepts may need to be forged. The new section will report on these vital moral struggles."

Ethics is the latest section that TIME has added to reflect changing trends and interests, including Health & Fitness (1985), Food (1984), Computers (1982) and Design (1981). The department will be overseen by Assistant Managing Editor John Elson, who has edited the Nation, World, Essay and Religion sections during his 30-year career at TIME. "When ethics is the heart of a matter of public concern, the story will run in this section," he explains. "But Ethics will never be a platform for any one point of view." The section will draw on editors, writers and reporter-researchers knowledgeable in law, religion, medicine, education and other appropriate areas.

This week's story was prepared by Law Writer Richard Lacayo. "In reading the literature on surrogate mothers, I have had to think through my own feelings with a thoroughness that has not been demanded before," he says. "Decent people can come down on either side of the question, so my job is to help people clarify their thinking."

TIME's editors hope readers will find this inaugural Ethics story, and those in future issues, not only thought provoking but helpful in understanding the moral issues that underlie so many news events.