Martin L. Smith is the chief of the Clinical Ethics Service and associate professor of critical care at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston where he and his staff conduct approximately 100 ethics consultations a year. A clinical ethicist for 18 years, Smith holds a doctorate in theology, a master’s in divinity, a bachelor’s in philosophy and classical languages, and a license in sacred theology. He has published articles on such topics as euthanasia, the medical futility debate, forgoing artificial nutrition and hydration, blood transfusions and Jehovah’s Witness patients, institutional ethics committees, informed consent, medical mistakes, and pastoral care and bioethics.