Ethical issues may arise in a variety of circumstances — when a code of ethics is ambiguous about a particular situation, when there's a clash between two codes over a particular ethical dilemma, or when a code doesn't address a scenario whatsoever. The ethical codes that help address these ethics issues can come from a variety of sources; there are corporate ethics codes, medical ethics codes, and political ethics codes. While religions typically provide values and moral standards, some also provide ethical codes too. Some of the most common ethics issues have to do with abortion, euthanasia, human cloning, torture, animal rights, corporate fraud, and the environment.

Abortion is perhaps one of the most controversial, and hotly debated, ethics issue. This ethical debate tends to have a variety of sub-questions including, Is there ever a time that abortion is ethical?, Is abortion ethical if the fetus is a product of rape or incest?, and Does the age of the fetus affect whether an abortion is ethical?. When only one of two lives — the woman or the fetus, but not both — can be saved, yet another ethical issue with respect to abortion is implicated.

Euthanasia is the issue of whether or not it is permissible to take one’s own life, or whether or not it is permissible for someone else to assist in the suicide of another person. These questions emerge when the person in question is severely or terminally ill; advocates for euthanasia, therefore, argue that it is a simple matter of mercy — if a person is in a significant amount of pain or suffering, then it is an act of kindness to help that person die in the most humane way possible. Those who are against euthanasia argue that it amounts to little more than murder, and they claim that it harms human dignity or society, or that it is a decision that only God can make.

Human cloning is the process of asexually reproducing human life, tissue, and organs. Proponents argue that this is the next step in human and technological evolution. Those who are against it argue that human cloning belittles the intrinsic value that humans have, and that humans are not disposable artifacts that can be used for any arbitrary purpose. Doctors and scientists also often argue against human cloning on behalf of the human produced by the process. They point out that cloning is ineffective and could produce unhealthy and unviable humans.

Generally, human value topics are closely related to issues known as human rights issues. Human rights advocates say that there is a basic minimum that all humans should be allowed to do and a basic minimum from which humans should be protected — anything that violates such a right is impermissible. For example, proponents claim that torture is a violation of human rights. Some opponents say that torture is justified, arguing that torture is not so much an issue about human rights as it is a matter of national security.

It has been common and historical practice for humans to eat animals, eat animal byproducts, and use animals in medical and scientific research for the benefit of human well-being. Animal rights activists, much like human rights activists, say that such activities are unacceptable. They claim that like humans, there is a basic minimum that animals should be allowed to do and a basic minimum from which animals should be protected.

Environmental ethics debates typically involve both corporate and individual responsibility to local ecosystems. Environmentalists argue that choices people make every day, as well as the long-term policies of corporations, impact the environment and should both be regulated. They also argue that the actions of individuals and corporations significantly affect people in every region of the world and will affect future generations of humans; therefore, choices should be made with reflective consideration.

Not only is there controversy about how to settle particular ethics issues, controversy concerning the boundaries of ethics exists, as well. There is ambiguity about who is supposed to be ethical and exactly when he or she is supposed to be ethical. In other words, there is confusion about when the question of ethics is relevant in the first place, which most likely will continue to contribute to the prevalence of common ethics issues.