Bioethics and profession of Medicine / Bioethics and the Medical Profession

The present work aims to discuss some crucial contemporary ethical questions the profession of medicine has to face in order for it to be true to its vocation and its very reason of existence. The commodification that has been impimging in all areas of the globalized world and the conservative waves stemming from the attitude of some religious authorities who put abstract principles before people´s well-being (as is the question of abortion) throw the profession of medicine in an unprecedented crisis that can threaten its very survival. A "professional" is by definition one who makes a public promise to do work for others considered crucial to society and because of this all professional of medicine have a serious responsability regarding the oposition to this unjust state of affairs. As every serious responsability requires a serious commitment, the paper urges all medical professionals, both indiviaduality and collectively, to take a unswering responsability of defending the bioethical principles of beneficence and non-maleficence - the very crux of the profession of medicine.

La ética como carácter y la investigación médica / The ethics character and medical research

Con este artículo pretendo volver a llamar la atención hacia la conexión histórica entre el significado originalde la palabra griega ethos y la disciplina de la ética, como el ser interior, el espíritu humano o carácter. La ética de la investigación debe incluir la dimensión interna de la ética, así como incluye las normativas y directrices del comportamiento. La historia de la ética de la investigación nos dice que las transgresiones se han producido no por falta de normas, sino por ignorar la dimensión interna de la ética. Actualmente, los investigadores médicos se ven sometidos a tentaciones de autopromoción, asociadas a narcisismo y avaricia, que les puede llevar a ignorar esta dimensión. Los investigadores de hoy no cederán a las presiones de sus propios intereses, si toman ejemplo del origen de los CaballerosHospitalarios de la Edad Media y de investigadores como Henry K. Beecher.

Natural law, history and politics

The basic philosophical vision and ethical principles of Catholic Natural Law claim universality. Natural Law thinking aspires to objectivity and universality and at the same time is open to the continuing influence fromhistory and politics. The background principles of positive law historically go by the name of Natural Law.Suffering and injustice contribute to a vision both of the structure of human existence and of what we mean byhumane law and ethics. When we confront a cultural crisis, Natural Law, looks not to the past but to the future. Few people today talk of the ethical dimensions of social realities in terms of Natural Law. This is true both in the Church and in the State. In bioethics, the principles rooted in the universal structure of human life have to provide direction and regulations on the playing field of contemporary life and medicine. A liberal Catholic perspective tries to keep in play the universal and the particular aspects of Natural Law reasoning.

Aging and dying: medical and ethical considerations

The idea of writing a chapter on aging seems particularly appropriate. I'm at the right age to address this topic. As I did the preparatory reading and research, I had anunusual experience. For the first time in my life, I felt like an expert. I could judge what people were saying about aging by my own experience. Besides facing aging myself, I work mainly with rural hospitals and nursinghomes and hospice organizations where most of the patients are elderly. Both in my personal life and in my work, I am surrounded by the realities of aging and dying.In a recent book entitled Gray Dawn on the economics and politics of aging, the author, Peter Peterson used a gripping metaphor to describe the challenge of anincreasing aging population. Global aging, he said, is like a massive iceberg which very well could destroy even the most powerful economic vessels in the world. The agingpopulation worldwide, according to this author, threatens human survival and is the most important challenge we face in the 21st century. His iceberg metaphor highlights the danger of global aging and the fact the all human beings are exposed to this danger.

Algunas reflexiones personales sobre la participación de la OPS en temas de bioética / Some personal reflections on PAHO`s involvement with bioethics

Si tenemos que estar conscientes de cómo la investigación influenciará las vidas de los sujetos de investigación, también tenemos que ser críticos respecto de nuestro transfondo de creencias filosóficas y religiosas. Estas pueden o no respaldar nuestro respeto por las personas de otras culturas y hacen posible luchar por la dignidad de las personas vulnerables. Tendremos que enfrentar asuntos prácticos, concretos y específicos en medicina e investigación, pero tendremos que estar conscientes a la vez del trasfondo de creencias y supuestos con los cuales operamos. Tendremos que tener un sentido de quiénes somos y del tipo de mundo sociocultural que queremos para otros seres humanos. Solamente entonces podremos trabajar con los aspectos prácticos de la investigación con sujetos humanos