Notes on the Normative Regulation of Novel Biomedical Technologies

Contemporary biomedical dilemmas in the beginning, throughout and at the end of life – such as embryonic stem-cells research, cloning, the moral and legal status of the embryo, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and gender selection, organs and tissues donation, and end-of-life medical decisionmaking – raise intriguing queries regarding the goals and modus operandi of the “good society”, including the proper allocation of decisionmaking powers between consumers and suppliers of professional services, between the individual, the family and society, between the scientific community and the state. The developing field of biomedical ethics strives to fashion a calculated balance between various, occasionally contending, values and interests, such as personal autonomy and free choice versus professional privilege and societal paternalism, or taking risks now (in, say, conducting biomedical experiments on humans) versus potential future benefits to humankind resulting from the anticipated progress of biomedical science and technology, or freedom of scientific research versus deeply rooted values of morality, culture and religion. The changing realities of biomedicine make one ponder the suitability of the existing normative order to cope with novel biomedical challenges. To what extent can current legal practices provide appropriate solutions to the problems generated by modern biomedicine? What legal changes are desirable and feasible? How could needed reforms be shaped and implemented? What actors ought to be brought under the umbrella of normative supervision?