El marco jurídico en la bioética

Laburpena

The duality of progress is of concern to society because technology is not merely an external force; man is a part of it. The application of scientifi c and biomedical advances on the human being is affected by two trends in Bioethics; objectivism and relativism which arouse confl icting opinions in society. It is the signifi cance which is attributed to morality which forms the basis for the separation of these two opposing positions. Bioethics alone is not enough to protect the fundamental rights involved when these scientifi c advances are applied to human beings. Biolaw, a new branch of Law, has emerged to establish a legal base which provides restraints and guarantees the dignity and the rights of man. This new discipline interpellates man, who is the only subject in moral law and whose life alone constitutes an ordening principle of the Law which effectively protects the life and rights of man.There is not a global bioethics in which all living beings are to be integrated; these beings belong to another science ruled by different laws to Ethics; namely Ecology. The relativist bioethical position is opposed to the concept of morality, something which is recognised explicity in legal norms as a necessary and objective reference point for interpreting human rights. Those who promote a kind of "minimalist ethics" based on consensus are confusing the fi eld of ethics with that of juridics.