Bioethics and the Law in Mexico

Abstract

The results of an empirical study (Hall, 2017) show that, taken as a group, physicians in Mexico do not know what is legal and what is not legal with respect to certain areas of clinical practice. A number of legal cases are cited showing the ways in which the legal system is ineffective with respect to providing guidance on bioethical issues. We conclude that physicians in Mexico do not know what is legal and what is illegal with respect to bioethics because they cannot know (the law is unclear) and because they do not need to know (there is no effective legal precedent or enforcement). We suggest that the way forward must be through institutional policies establishing standards that depend only upon the traditional contract for medical care.