Law, Bioethics, and Biotechnology
International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2nd ed., Vol. 13, James D. Wright, Editor, 2015, Forthcoming
9 Pages Posted: 10 May 2015
Date Written: May 8, 2015
Abstract
This article examines the emergence of bioethics as a legal discourse and the relationship between technology and bioethics. As a field of study, bioethics functions as a tool to analyze the multifaceted conundrums presented by modern medicine and a way by which those problems can be addressed. This article provides an overview of this broad field of study, beginning with the development of the Nuremberg Code, Declaration of Helsinki, and Belmont Report, and addressing the pivotal medical cases that ultimately spur legislative action, the drafting of codes of professional ethics, and the shaping of legal discourse. The article offers insights on several twentieth-century cases that inspired the development of bioethics in the United States and beyond and has since influenced the development of bioethics and technology throughout the world.
Keywords: Bioethics, biotechnology, science, law, human research, informed consent, experimentation, Tuskegee Study, Nuremberg Trial, Nuremberg Code, Declaration of Helsinki, contraception, HIV, autonomy, Willowbrook, prisoner research
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