Principles of Biomedical Ethics by Tom Beauchamp and James Childress is considered by many to be the leading textbook for teaching bioethics. This book, first published in 1979, is now in its seventh edition. In this paper I will explore the evolution of the text over the seven editions (1979–2013). Many changes have occurred in the text, both minor and major, over the last thirty-five years. One major change is the movement of virtue ethics from one small section near the end of the book in chapter 8 to a full chapter of its own prominently placed in chapter 2.I will explore whether this change is a response to the rise in popularity of virtue ethics over the years or a change in the thought of the authors, or more a development along the lines the authors were already moving. Another example is the modification of their position on physician-assisted suicide and the related modification of the language used to discuss it. A third example is the addition of many other ethical theories to the original two (deontology and utilitarianism) of the first editions. The basis for these changes and others seems to be their development of the theme of the “common morality”: “The common morality is the set of norms shared by all persons committed to morality” (6th ed., 3).I will also critique the impact these changes are having on bioethics, especially since many bioethics courses use this text as foundational. Over the years, Beauchamp and Childress have drifted far from the metaphysical and anthropological foundations of ethics, thus allowing their theory to be used by students, societies, and public policy to take bioethics in any direction the individual (or society) chooses, even in an opposite direction than that the authors originally intended.