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debating (and possibly ratifying) the Convention at the national level [13]. The Convention identified basic principles necessary for the applica tion of medicine and the life sciences. It set out to protect the dignity and identity of all human beings: ''The interests and welfare of the human being shall prevail over the sole interest of society or science" (art. 2). It also requests that appropriate measures be taken to provide equitable access to healthcare of appropriate quality. The principle of respecting the free and informed consent of the person is clearly stressed. The issue of interventions on persons unable to provide an informed consent has been controversial for a long time; in the first draft, the exact formulation of the relevant article remained open. Now it states that interventions may be carried out on persons with impaired decision-making capacities, but only for their benefit, and only if minimal risks and minimal burdens are imposed. Consensus apparently exists over a broad range of issues. Privacy and free access to information are defined as rights, in article 10. Discrimination against a person on the basis of his or her genetic heritage is prohibited. Sex selection in medically assisted procreation is prohibited (except to avoid serious hereditary, sex-related diseases). Financial gain from using the human body and its parts is explicitly prohibited. The more controversial issues in bioethics are not addressed in this Convention, however. An exception is research on embryos in vitro.
List of contents
Introduction: Consensus Formation in Healthcare Ethics.- Ethical Consensus Formation in Clinical Cases.- The Process of Coherence Formation in Healthcare Ethics Committees: The consensus process, social authority, and ethical judgments.- Consensus Formation and Healthcare Policy.- Contemporary Trends in Healthcare Ethics.- Moral Deliberation and Moral Warfare: Consensus formation in a pluralistic society.- Consensus Formation in Bioethical Decisionmaking in Japan: Present contexts and future perspectives.- Finding a Voice for Bioethics in Public Policy: Federal initiatives in the United States, 1974-1991.- Decisionmaking and Consensus Formation in Clinical Ethics.- Action Driven Consensus Formation.- Dissent and Dissensus: The limits of consensus formation in psychiatry.- Consensus Formation in Genetic Counseling: A complex process.- Obtaining Consent from the Family: A horizon for clinical ethics.- Consensus and Futility of Treatment: Some policy suggestions.- Shaping Reproductive Technology Policy: The search for consensus.- Notes on Contributors.
About the author
Henk A. ten Have studied medicine and philosophy at Leiden University, the Netherlands. He received his medical degree in 1976 from Leiden University and his philosophy degree in 1983. He worked as a researcher in the Pathology Laboratory, University of Leiden (1976-77), as a practicing physician in the Municipal Health Services, City of Rotterdam (1978-79), and as a Professor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Limburg, Maastricht (1982-91). From 1991 he was a Professor of Medical Ethics and the Director of the Department of Ethics, Philosophy and History of Medicine in the University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. In September 2003 he joined UNESCO as Director of the Division of Ethics of Science and Technology. In 2010 he was appointed as Director of the Center for Healthcare Ethics, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh.
