Esbozo multicultural del principialismo bioético / Multi-cultural outline at the beginning of bioethics

ABSTRACT

Latinoamerican bioethics must emerge in awareness that our societies are multicultural in their historic development and value commitments. The strong liberal orientation of principialism wich mostly privileges autonomy social diversity. Autonomy will problably have to be shared, cost/benefit analysis mus emphatically be shifted towards the patient, and justice will play a fundamental role in shaping public health policies and determinig access to medical care. Latin bioethics has proposed other, purportedly more autoctonous principles like the fundamental value of life, therapeutic completeness, subsidiary such a brand of bioethics prefers to speak of good/bad rather than right/wrong, give priority to benevolence vs. justice and friendship above mutual respect. It is well possible that the recent emergence of communitarian bioethics might be amiable to latin cultures, butt all such propositons, will require empirical studies of the cultural heritage and prevalent values in these societies