Bioethics: Medical

Abstract

In a plural and secular society, bioethics may be related to basic human rights that, in all modern and civilized societies, evolved to the point of giving an almost unlimited respect to the human being. This idea is clearly expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a statement that is crucial in all ethical reflection on medicine. It is generally accepted, at least in societies influenced by modern culture, that some basic rights are inherent to all human individuals, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, and political or religious convictions. And medical ethics could not escape this influence of bioethics: the right of every citizen to his or her freedom of self-determination. The Nuremberg Code, in particular, refers to this issue concerning the ethical imperative of obtaining informed consent. Thus, there was no need to create a new medical ethics but reformulate it in the light of new paradigms.