Moral consensus theory: paradigm cases of abortion and orthothanasia in Brazil

Abstract

Bioethics is a relatively new way of thinking about relationships in medical practice. It enables reflection on ethical conflicts, and opens up management options without dictating rules. Despite this historical context, medical ethics has been sidelined in the course of the development of bioethics. Bioethical reflection does not automatically result in changes to conflict resolution in daily doctor-patient relationships. However, these reflections are important because they promote the search for a "moral consensus" that establishes new ethical rules for day-to-day medical practice. We suggest that there is no conflict between bioethics and medical ethics; rather, these areas interact to establish new standards of behaviour among physicians. The legalisation of orthothanasia in Brazil is one example of how this theory of moral consensus might operate. On the other hand, the legal battle on abortion illustrates how the law cannot change without such a moral consensus.

Edmund Pellegrino: moralidade médica e a teoria do consenso moral

“…Or even, we add, reflect issues not yet covered by consensual moral analysis, such as the above mentioned cases of abortion and euthanasia 15 .…”

“…Both Brody and Miller's thesis 10 and our theory 15 of "moral consensus" (a term that could had been already seen in the work of Jonsen's work, Siegler Winslade 16 ) lead to legitimation of the influence of external paradigms on medical morality.…”

“…Robert Veatch 14 states the need to review old Hippocratic concepts and codes written by professional medical organisations to verify the authority of practitioners to establish legitimate moral standards for their group. To this we add our interpretation 15 that the internal morality of medicine is in fact re-evaluated and modified from time to time. However, how this reappraisal and restructuring is done depends on the "moral consensus" established by the various components of society in which physicians live and the correlation of political forces between them.…”

Aborto E Microcefalia: Inserção Da Bioética

“…A Bioética não dita às regras das nossas ações, mas sim permite uma reflexão sobre os conflitos e dilemas morais que permeiam as questões da saúde e da vida. Segundo o autor, ela é vista como o exercício humanista de pensar sobre os conflitos naturais, e, mais ainda, visa combinar a biologia e os valores humanos de forma que os dilemas morais e éticos sejam tratados e seguidos de forma ética (8).…”

“…O cerne da questão, todavia, não há consenso no reconhecimento do momento em que a vida inicia (5,7,8). A concepção do surgimento da vida varia de acordo com fundamentações cientificas, filosóficas e religiosas, igualmente, com as crenças e costumes dos povos.…”