On 10 June 2016, the Ombudsman's Office hosted an interdisciplinary scientific conference entitled. "Selected aspects of human rights and bioethics", organised in cooperation with the Committee on Bioethics of the Polish Academy of Sciences. It resulted in a scientific monograph containing articles prepared by both lawyers and doctors and ethicists, which represent their reflections on the issues raised during the conference.
The publication consists of four thematic chapters. The first one concerns consent to the provision of health care, i.e. an institution constituting a basic guarantee of respecting patients' rights during the treatment process. This chapter contains both a comprehensive account of the legal regulations concerning consent, as well as considerations, so far rarely addressed in the Polish literature, concerning the place of informed consent in the culture of democratic societies and the issue of the scope of the doctor's duty to provide information on possible methods of diagnosis and therapy.
The second chapter deals with patient rights in clinical trials. The articles in this chapter focus on considerations relating to the consequences associated with the entry into force of the so-called General Data Protection Regulation. The reader will also be able to learn about the history of clinical trials and the challenges faced by the Polish legislator regarding the legal regulation of these trials.
Chapter three discusses the issue of genetic testing. The chapter begins with an article providing some diagnosis of the existing problems related to the nature of this type of testing. This is followed by considerations referring to both international and European standards and constitutional standards on genetic testing. These illustrate a number of challenges that the legislator will have to face when developing legal regulations in this area.
The final chapter contains publications on other bioethical issues, such as transplantation, the in vitro fertilisation procedure, as well as the rights of incapacitated persons residing in social welfare homes, or the impact of the ethical principles codified in the Code of Medical Ethics on the exercise of the medical profession.
The authors hope that the issues raised in the monograph will contribute to a wider public debate, and that the proposed solutions will prove to be a useful source of information for patients, doctors, lawyers and ethicists, as well as those shaping national health policy, and will consequently contribute to better protection of human rights.
Available online: https://www.rpo.gov.pl/sites/default/files/Wybrane%20aspekty%20praw%20cz%C5%82owie kaabioethics.pdf
https://ruj.uj.edu.pl/xmlui/bitstream/handle/item/246330/chyrowicz_bioetyka_a_metafizyka_2 004.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y