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Bioethics and Human Rights: A Historical Perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2001

ROBERT BAKER
ROBERT BAKER
Affiliation:
Union College, New York; History of Medical Ethics Affinity Group of the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities; and the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania
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Abstract

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Bioethics and human rights were conceived in the aftermath of the Holocaust, when moral outrage reenergized the outmoded concepts of “medical ethics” and “natural rights,” renaming them “bioethics,” and “human rights” to give them new purpose. Originally, the principles of bioethics were a means for protecting human rights, but through a historical accident, bioethical principles came to be considered as fundamental. In this paper I reflect on the parallel development and accidental divorce of bioethics and human rights to urge their reconciliation.

Type
Special Section: Keeping Human Rights: An Appreciation of Jonathan M. Mann
Information
Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics , Volume 10 , Issue 3 , July 2001 , pp. 241 - 252
Copyright
© 2001 Cambridge University Press