Democracy and bioethical controversies.
Bioethics and the public debate is certainly a nonsense for those who still believe that medical practice should only be a matter of individual relationship between a physician and his/her patient, such a relationship being regulated by the awareness that the medical practitioner has of his/her ethical duties. However for those who believe that physicians and other health care providers cannot find any more the replies to the problems raised by the development of new biomedical techniques in their own professional ethics, at least three questions should be posed. Can the traditional democratic institutions face those issues? Is there a need for new institutions to be built? Are such mechanisms--both old and new--appropriate to support a public debate?
Byk
Christian
C
International Association of Law, Ethics and Science.
D001675:Bioethics; D003657:Decision Making; D003709:Democracy; D017041:Ethics Committees; D006801:Humans; D009014:Morals; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011639:Public Opinion; D011640:Public Policy; D012306:Risk