title: Bioethics in a liberal society--political, not moral.
abstract: This paper argues for the importance of the political context of a society for bioethics. In particular, I argue that in a liberal constitutional society, such as the one we find ourselves in, no particular moral perspective is granted a privileged position. Rather, individuals are allowed to live their lives according to values they adopt for themselves, and the rights granted to protect this ability "trump" social consensus, and place boundaries on the social application of personal moral beliefs and values.
authors.affiliation: Memorial Medical Center, USA.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: May
mesh_terms: D026688:Bioethical Issues; D001675:Bioethics; D002961:Civil Rights; D032921:Consensus; D003709:Democracy; D026689:Ethical Analysis; D005610:Freedom; D033161:Government Regulation; D006806:Human Rights; D006801:Humans; D033222:Judicial Role; D007603:Jurisprudence; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D010684:Philosophy; D011056:Political Systems; D011640:Public Policy; D014481:United States