The Handbook of Global Bioethics was published at the right time for the gradual development of bioethics. Started as a discourse critical of the professional ethics of the physician, the new discipline of bioethics emerged in the 1970s mainly in Western countries. Concerns about the potential impact of new scientific and technological developments prevailed. The main challenge was to empower patients and citizens in light of the new diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities of medical practice and the infinite technological possibilities to improve health, eradicate disease and prolong life. However, since the turn of the millennium, bioethics has entered a new and more expansive phase. Due to international cooperation, new information technologies and transnational economic activities, bioethical issues have also become globalised. Almost all countries now have bioethical challenges. However, the main questions facing global bioethics today are no longer related to the power of science and technology. Today, the most important bioethical questions are about money and socio-economic conditions. Many people in many countries do not even have access to the benefits of scientific and technological advances. They have treatable diseases, but medicines are not available. They need surgery, but hospitals are far away. They need medical care, but cannot afford to pay. They cannot care for their sick children because they have to work long hours away from home. They cannot adequately feed themselves and their family. An early breakthrough in global bioethics was the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights, adopted by all UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation) member states in 2005. This political and legal document presents the first general framework of ethical principles for a global bioethics that embraces all cultures and countries. It was used as the main reference document for this handbook.
The Handbook aims to provide a geographical and systematic overview of global bioethics. Volumes 1 and 2 discuss many existing and emerging topics in the field. Volumes 3 and 4 present the current state of bioethics in many different countries around the world. It is clear that the Handbook can only give an early picture of the state of global bioethics, a discipline that will undoubtedly go through a long process of maturation. Many issues will need to be addressed more thoroughly and new unexpected problems will arise. Therefore, this first edition of the handbook will certainly require constant updating. In doing so, it aims to orient the reader in the progressive development of the new discipline of global bioethics.