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."

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."

Fritz Jahr, a Protestant pastor in Halle an der Saale, coined the original term "Bioethics" in 1927 and formulated - in critical response to Immanuel Kant's "Categorical Imperative" - a "Bioethical Imperative" for the future of integrative bioethics: "Respect every living Being as an end in itself and treat it, if possible, as such " Leading bioethicists from the US, Europe, and Asia discuss Jahr's visionary concept of an ethics of "bios," integrating the ethics of land, community, health, and culture in light of the global challenges in the 21st century. The book includes all 15 long forgotten articles on bioethics and ethics written by Jahr from 1927 to 1947 in English translation. (Series: Practical Ethics / Ethik in der Praxis - Studies / Studien - Vol. 37)

Moderne und leistungsfahige Technik erfordert moderne und leistungsfahige Formen der ethischen Analyse und Bewertung von Technikentwicklung und -anwendung. Dieses Buch stellt Methoden der Guterabwagung in klinischer Forschung, Differentialdiagnostik, Ethik, Theologie, Philosophie und Rechtswissenschaften vor. Die differential-ethische Guterabwagung und die Methoden ethischer Kosten-Nutzen-Risikobewertung haben uber Aie biomedizinische Forschung und humanmedizinische Versorgung hinaus grosse Bedeutung fur ein moralisches Verantwortungsbewusstsein auf allen Gebieten der modernen Technologie. Das Buch wendet sich an Kliniker und Forscher, Philosophen und Theologen, Manager, Politiker und alle, die ethische Risiken in komplexen Entscheidungssituationen abzuwagen haben.

"Ethik und Affentliches Gesundheitswesen" wendet sich an alle mA1/4ndigen und an der Struktur und Ethik des Affentlichen Gesundheitswesens interessierten BA1/4rger, vor allem aber an Mediziner und Medizinpolitiker, GesundheitsAkonomen, Philosophen, Ethiker und Politiker und an die Vertreter der VerbAnde im Gesundheitswesen. Die BeitrAge dieses Buches leisten einen Beitrag zur aktuellen Diskussion A1/4ber die Kostenexplosion im Gesundheitswesen und seine notwendige Reform. Die ethischen Aspekte der PatientenmA1/4ndigkeit und der VorzA1/4ge einer marktwirtschaftlichen Reform werden besonders herausgestellt. Durch einen Vergleich mit den Gesundheitssystemen der USA, der UdSSR, Frankreichs und Englands gewinnt die gegenwArtige Diskussion in der Bundesrepublik an Konturen.