Renewing and growing

Since 2020, Revista Bioética is renewing itself in several ways, an adequate layout was missing to complement this process. The new design should capture the idea of “A bridge to the future,” as Potter conceived it, over which humanity crosses, with its changes and transcendences. According to Bohnemberger¹, Potter’s idea is the symbol of the union between the humanities and the technological scientific field, rethinking scientific development, the environment, human beings, and the world that will remain for the next generations². He suggests a theoretical approach informed by Edgar Morin’s thought³and his concern with education for the future, which must be transformative, with ethics in cultural diversity at its center, privileging the construction of transdisciplinary knowledge that includes individuals, nature, and society.

Still according to Morin³, it is necessary to think about science with discernment, since it creates powerful means of transformation, manipulation, and destruction, threatening the environment and the human beings that inhabit it. It is necessary to implement new and high standards of ethics and integrity in science in general, and in research, so that scientists of the future always act with a full understanding of the consequences of their work. That is, bioethics is also the materialization of the ideal that science is not neutral and that it should always be thought and applied for the benefit of humanity, and not for its instrumentalization.

All the changes proposed in the layout were crowned by the insertion of our journal on the international platform Scopus, in March 2021, being the only Brazilian journal dedicated to the topic of bioethics – published in English, Spanish, and Portuguese – to obtain this international indexing. Scopus offers a comprehensive panorama of research production worldwide, in the areas of science, technology, medicine, social sciences, arts, and humanities; it is one of the global scientific references.

The issue 29.2 of Revista Bioética is already included in this new perspective of a journal that, today, has an increased social responsibility at the international level. Maintaining the same scientific rigor, it addresses topics of the greatest ethical and social relevance, such as the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic – which continues to ravage many countries, motivating numerous studies and reflections. The world has changed, and that requires us to understand the adaptations and flexibilities in many social aspects. In this issue, the addressed theme is “Covid-19 and ageism: ethics of the distribution of health resources” – an essential reflection in developed societies where certain values reinforce discrimination of certain social groups, hurting the principles of human dignity and justice. Due to the repercussion of prejudiced discourses regarding aging, public policies focused on the topic become even more important to maintain a society with greater social justice and solidarity among the various intergenerational groups, respecting the lives and rights of older adults⁴.

Another article discusses the evaluation of medical knowledge construction, in an ethical-political criticism, commenting the book “Natural, racional, social: razão médica e racionalidade científica moderna” (Natural, rational, social: medical reason and modern cientific rationality). Here, two medical systems are confronted: traditional therapies and alternative and complementary therapies, considering the cultural particularities of societies and aspects of social policy, since both may be eventually connected given the role of social sciences in the area of health⁵.

As societies develop and advance, more people with disabilities occupy spaces that were previously restricted to them. Academic training plays an important role in this, and the adequacy of universities to guarantee access to people with disabilities has the beneficial consequence of greater insertion in the labor market. In the area of health, the theme is addressed from the point of view of bioethical conflicts⁶. The full integration of people with disabilities is, today, an essential landmark of civilized societies, but for that to happen it is necessary to raise awareness among citizens – and bioethics has a very special responsibility in this quest, as it is a fundamental vehicle to achieve this effect.

Palliative care is a recurring theme in fundamental rights, life, and death, always preserving autonomy and human dignity, since they involve important bioethical issues. Discuss palliative care implies a broader approach on ethics and life terminality, linked to concepts such as orthothanasia, dysthanasia, mysthanasia, and their legal aspects⁷. Principles of autonomy, beneficence, non- -maleficence, and justice⁸are within the bioethical principle, and act as the guiding principles of medical practices and human actions⁹. The goal of palliative care is to promote quality of life for patients and family members with diseases that can influence the continuity of life and that demand the care of a multidisciplinary team. It is, in fact, a new philosophy of medicine, in which the technological triumphalism of the late 20^thcentury gives way to a more compassionate medicine, centered on care, compassion, and love for others. These are traditional attributes of medical ethics, which have been diluted in the face of advances in science and technology, but that are now found in palliative care.

Finally, the issue addresses the topic of secrecy, anonymity, and confidentiality in blood donors with HIV. In Brazil, a recent modification of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) occurred due to the Direct Action of Unconstitutionality 5.543 / DF¹⁰, of June 2020, which states that blood donation is allowed by men that had sex with other men in the 12 months before the donation. The previous legal parameters – Ordinance 158/2016¹¹of the Brazilian Ministry of Health and article 25 of the Resolution of the Collegiate Board of the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) RDC 34/2014 12 – were considered unconstitutional, due to their discriminatory nature. And the central objective of bioethics is to think about these problems, always considering the respect for the right to individual privacy.

In addition to these themes, many other interesting topics are covered in this issue. Enjoy your reading!

The Editors

Referências

• ¹
  Bohnemberger M. Bioética e interdisciplinaridade. Curitiba: Editora CRV; 2017.
• ²
  Ribeiro CD. “Bioetica global” de Potter: ponte para o futuro ou pinguela para o passado? Diversitates Int J [Internet]. 2019 [acesso 21 maio 2021];(2):1-22. Disponível: https://bit.ly/3wLHhMt
  » https://bit.ly/3wLHhMt
• ³
  Morin E. Os sete saberes necessários à educação do futuro. São Paulo: Cortez; 2011.
• ⁴
  Silva MF, Silva DSM, Bacurau AGM, Francisco PMSB, Assumpção D, Neri AL, Borim FSA. Ageismo contra idosos no contexto da pandemia da covid-19: uma revisão integrativa. Rev Saúde Pública [Internet]. 2021 [acesso 21 maio 2021];55:4. DOI: 10.11606/s1518-8787.2021055003082
• ⁵
  Nascimento MC, Barros NF, Nogueira MI, Luz MT. A categoria racionalidade médica e uma nova epistemologia em saúde. Ciênc. saúde coletiva[Internet]. 2013 [acesso 21 maio 2021];18(12):3595-604. DOI: 10.1590/S1413-81232013001200016
• ⁶
  Murray B. Oportunidades de empleo y de formación para las personas con discapacidad: papel de la OIT. Educación obrera [Internet]. 2004 [acesso 21 maio 2021];137:1-11. Disponível: https://bit.ly/3fzJHrB
  » https://bit.ly/3fzJHrB
• ⁷
  Liz AM, Murari JCL, Rodrigues HV, Ferreira FF, Capalonga D, Murari AL. A terminalidade da vida e os aspectos bioéticos. Anais do 10º Salão Internacional de Ensino, Pesquisa e Extensão (Siepe) [Internet]. Universidade Federal do Pampa, Santana do Livramento, 2018 [acesso 21 maio 2021]. Disponível: https://bit.ly/3yOvIpz
  » https://bit.ly/3yOvIpz
• ⁸
  Moritz RD, Rossini JP, Deicas A. Cuidados paliativos na UTI: definições e aspectos ético-legais. In: Moritz RD. Cuidados paliativos nas unidades de terapia intensiva. São Paulo: Atheneu; 2012. p. 19-32.
• ⁹
  Koerich MS, Machado RR, Costa E. Ética e bioética: para dar início à reflexão. Texto & Contexto Enferm [Internet]. 2005 [acesso 21 maio 2021];14(1):106-10. DOI: 10.1590/S0104-07072005000100014
• ¹⁰
  Supremo Tribunal Federal. Ação direta de inconstitucionalidade 5.543 Distrito Federal [Internet]. Brasília [acesso 21 maio 2021]. Disponível: https://bit.ly/3pihR6N
  » https://bit.ly/3pihR6N
• ¹¹
  Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Portaria Nº 158, de 4 de fevereiro de 2016. Redefine o regulamento técnico de procedimentos hemoterápicos [Internet]. Brasília [acesso 21 maio 2021]. Disponível: https://bit.ly/3i6QkTW
  » https://bit.ly/3i6QkTW
• ¹²
  Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (Anvisa). Resolução da Diretoria Colegiada da Anvisa RDC 34, de 11 de junho de 2014 [Internet]. Brasília [acesso 21 maio 2021]. Disponível: https://bit.ly/3c30tNB
  » https://bit.ly/3c30tNB

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  6 Sept 2021
• Date of issue
  Apr-Jun 2021