Global Bioethics

The panorama of bioethical problems is different today. Patients travel to Thailand for fast surgery; commercial surrogate mothers in India deliver babies to parents in rich countries; organs, body parts and tissues are trafficked from East to Western Europe; physicians and nurses migrating from Africa to the U.S; thousands of children or patients with malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS are dying each day because they cannot afford effective drugs that are too expensive. Mainstream bioethics as it has developed during the last 50 years in Western countries is evolving into a broader approach that is relevant for people across the world and is focused on new global problems. This book provides an introduction into the new field of global bioethics. Addressing these problems requires a broader vision of bioethics that not only goes beyond the current emphasis on individual autonomy, but that criticizes the social, economic and political context that is producing the problems at global level. This book argues that global bioethics is a necessity because the social, economic and environmental effects of globalization require critical responses. Global bioethics is not a finished product that can simply be applied to solve global problems, but it is the ongoing result of interaction and exchange between local practices and global discourse. It combines recognition of differences and respect for cultural diversity with convergence towards common perspectives and shared values. The book examines the nature of global problems as well as the type of responses that are needed, in order to exemplify the substance of global bioethics. It discusses the ethical frameworks that are available for global discourse and shows how these are transformed into global governance mechanisms and practices.

As the first of its kind, this handbook presents state-of-the-art information and analysis concerning the state of affairs in bioethics in around 40 countries. The country reports point out the most important discussions as well as the emerging topics in the field. Readers can orientate themselves quickly with regard to the various relevant issues, institutional structures and expertise available in these countries. The authorship of this reference work is truly global as it involves contributions from the best authors with innate knowledge of the bioethics situation in these countries.

"The ethical issues we face in healthcare, justice, and human rights extend beyond national boundaries-they are global and cross-cultural in scope. The second edition of this interdisciplinary and international collection features new essays on gender identity, vaccines, stem cells, bioterror, and other pressing contemporary concerns"--

Van Rensselaer Potter created and defined the term "bioethics" in 1970, to describe a new philosophy that sought to integrate biology, ecology, medicine, and human values. Bioethics is often linked to environmental ethics and stands in sharp contrast to biomedical ethics. Because of this confusion (and appropriation of the term in medicine), Potter chose to use the term "Global Bioethics" in 1988. Potter's definition of bioethics from Global Bioethics is, "Biology combined with diverse humanistic knowledge forging a science that sets a system of medical and environmental priorities for acceptable survival."

Global ethics addresses some of the most pressing ethical concerns today, including rogue states, torture, scarce resources, poverty, migration, consumption, global trade, medical tourism, and humanitarian intervention. It is both topical and important. How we resolve (or fail to resolve) the dilemmas of global ethics shapes how we understand ourselves, our relationships with each other and the social and political frameworks of governance now and into the future. This is seen most clearly in the case of climate change, where our actions now determine the environment our grandchildren will inherit, but it is also the case in other areas as our decisions about what it is permissible for humans beings to do to each other determines the type of beings we are. This book, suitable for course use, introduces students to the theory and practice of global ethics, ranging over issues in global governance and citizenship, poverty and development, war and terrorism, bioethics, environmental and climate ethics and gender justice.

Human annihilation has never been so easy. Artificial intelligence-guided genetic-engineered nanotechnology and robotics (AI-GNR) are widely recognized as our most transformative technological revolution ever, yet we do not even have a common moral language to unite our pluralistic world to prevent an AI apocalypse should this revolution explode out of our control. This book is the first known comprehensive global bioethical analysis of AI and AI-GNR by defining the Thomistic-Aristotelian personalist foundation of the rights and duties-based social contract framework of the United Nations, and then applying it to AI. As such, it creates a compelling approach which will appeal to scientists, health professionals, policy makers, politicians, students, and anyone interested in our shared survival around shared solutions.

This Dictionary presents a broad range of topics relevant in present-day global bioethics. With more than 500 entries, this dictionary covers organizations working in the field of global bioethics, international documents concerning bioethics, personalities that have played a role in the development of global bioethics, as well as specific topics in the field.The book is not only useful for students and professionals in global health activities, but can also serve as a basic tool that explains relevant ethical notions and terms. The dictionary furthers the ideals of cosmopolitanism: solidarity, equality, respect for difference and concern with what human beings- and specifically patients - have in common, regardless of their backgrounds, hometowns, religions, gender, etc. Global problems such as pandemic diseases, disasters, lack of care and medication, homelessness and displacement call for global responses.This book demonstrates that a moral vision of global health is necessary and it helps to quickly understand the basic ideas of global bioethics.

This work presents the first comprehensive and systematic treatment of all relevant issues and topics in contemporary global bioethics. Now that bioethics has entered into a novel global phase, a wider set of issues, problems and principles is emerging against the backdrop of globalization and in the context of global relations. This new stage in bioethics is furthermore promoted through the ethical framework presented in the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights adopted in 2005. This Declaration is the first political statement in the field of bioethics that has been adopted unanimously by all Member States of UNESCO. In contrast to other international documents, it formulates a commitment of governments and is part of international law (though not binding as a Convention). It presents a universal framework of ethical principles for the further development of bioethics at a global level. The Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics caters to the need for a comprehensive overview and systematic treatment of all pertinent new topics and issues in the emerging global bioethics debate. It provides descriptions and analysis of a vast range of important new issues from a truly global perspective and with a cross-cultural approach. New issues covered by the Encyclopedia and neglected in more traditional works on bioethics include, but are not limited to, sponsorship of research and education, scientific misconduct and research integrity, exploitation of research participants in resource-poor settings, brain drain and migration of healthcare workers, organ trafficking and transplant tourism, indigenous medicine, biodiversity, commodification of human tissue, benefit sharing, bio industry and food, malnutrition and hunger, human rights and climate change.