Borders and bridges in bioethics, the Portuguese case

Abstract

In contemporary Portugal, as in all countries, a cross-cutting question of a philosophical nature arises for specialists in ethics. This question accompanies a large part of the deliberation regarding bioethical problems in everyday life; what are the limits beyond which we would enter a grey area, or even slip into the forbidden space of dehumanization, and where are they? The theory of limits affects all sciences in a special way. Here also, in the field of bioethics, it will be possible determine a priori the limits of intervention in the human being? Can everything be researched? Which experiences become genuinely immoral? The author starts with a general reflection and, then considers two important questions in the recent history of Portugal: the use of medically assisted reproduction and the question of euthanasia.