Bioethics and Biolaw

Maciej Kowalczyk

A bit of history…

Bioethics- Greek bios- life; ethos- behavior

Introduced in 1927 by Fritz Jahr in article about “biethical imperative”

1970- American biochemist Van Rensselaer Potter “global ethics”

Nazi experiments during World War II- need of expanding biolaw and bioethics

Development of the field…

Technological advances posed novel questions

British philosophy- moving away from positivism and emotivism, development of theories of ethics and their application

1970s- emerging of bioethical think tasks and academic bioethics programs:

• Hasting Center

• Kennedy Institute of Ethics

…

Principles of Biomedical Ethics - first American textbook on bioethics

Asilomar Conference on Recombinant DNA

Brazil- Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul

The materia of the field

Boundaries of life- abortion euthanasia

Surrogacy

The allocation of scarce health care resources

The right to refuser medical care

The scope of bioethics can expand with biotechnology

Human experimentation- one of the first areas adressed by modern bioethicists

The National Commision for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research

Belmont Report- 1979

Autonomy

Beneficence

justice

Non- maleficence

Human dignity

Sanctity of life

Relationship between Bioethics and Biolaw

Issue of Western philosophy

Matter of several contemporary legal philosophers

In last years re- emerging of bioethical and biolaw discussion

Ambiguity od term “bioethics”- wide meaning and narrow meaning

…

UNESCO Declarations relating to “bioethics”

Blurring of the distinction of ethics and law

Ethics and Law interact and overlap with one another but remain different normative systems.

Ethics and Law pursue different goals

THE END