 Medical advances are making it possible for people to live longer and longer lives. Thus, our society has an ever increasing percentage of elderly persons in need of medical and other forms of care. Many of us bear very special ties to some of those persons: they are our parents, the people who raised and nurtured us in our formative childhoods and young adulthoods. Now that our positions are reversed — we, their children, are self-sufficient and capable, and they, our parents, are in need of care and supervision — what do we owe to them? Given the needs of elderly persons, caring for them may be extremely burdensome, and may require adult children to completely alter their lives, thereby making great sacrifices. Do adult children have special obligations to their aging parents, and, if so, why?