Bioethics: Introduction to the special issue

Available in Spanish in Bol. Oficina Sanit. Panan 108(5/6):369-73, 1990

Organ transplantation: The Latin American legislative response

As medical barriers to human organ transplants have fallen, serious legal and ethical obstacles have emerged. This article provides and overview of those obstacles, taking into account the relevant legislation in force in 16 Latin American countries in 1989. The author proceeds by considering postmortem and inter-vivos organ donations separately and examining the principal ethical and legal issues relating to each kind. In the case of postmortem donation these deal mainly with donor consent, recipient selection, funding of transplant costs, and possible conflict of interest. In the case of inter-vivos donation they relate again to donor consent and funding as well as to certain other matters- notably donor compensation, commerce in organs, and international sharing of organs. On the whole it is concluded that the countries of Latin America, together with the nations of the world in general, urgently need to develop more comprehensive legislation on organ procurement and transplantation

Available in Spanish in Bol. Oficina Sanit. Panam 108(5/6):445-64, 1990

Organ transplantation: The Latin American legislative response

As medical barriers to human organ transplants have fallen, serious legal and ethical obstacles have emerged. This article provides and overview of those obstacles, taking into account the relevant legislation in force in 16 Latin American countries in 1989. The author proceeds by considering postmortem and inter-vivos organ donations separately and examining the principal ethical and legal issues relating to each kind. In the case of postmortem donation these deal mainly with donor consent, recipient selection, funding of transplant costs, and possible conflict of interest. In the case of inter-vivos donation they relate again to donor consent and funding as well as to certain other matters- notably donor compensation, commerce in organs, and international sharing of organs. On the whole it is concluded that the countries of Latin America, together with the nations of the world in general, urgently need to develop more comprehensive legislation on organ procurement and transplantation

The right to health in the Américas: A comparative constitutional study

The purpose of this book is twofold: first to contribute to a better understanding among lawmakers of the importance of a right to health; and second, to promote a greater awareness among health professionals of the role of law in health. The book has been structured to consist of three main chapters. Chapter 1 sets the conceptual stage. The chapter begins with an introduction to international human rights, focusing on the social and economic rights and particularly the right to health. An analysis of the role of the State follows. Chapter 2 consists of 29 national analyses, and represents the core of the work. In this chapter, national scholars analyze the constitution of their own countries. Each national analysis, to provide a useful comparison, is undertaken in a uniform format. This format includes critical background information on the nature and scope of the right to health, the concept of health, and the alternative views of State responsibility for health. Chapter 3, Summary and Analysis, describes the constitutional history and evolution of Hispanic América, Portuguese América, North América and the Caribbean including; legal traditions; forms and structures of government; principal characteristics of political constitutions; efficacy of constitutional norms; the concept of the right to health and a review of its international, constitutional, and legislative expressions

Bioética: Presentación del número especial / Biohetics: Introduction to the especial issue

Publicado también como Publicación Científica No. 527