Bioethics: implications for medical practice and deontologic and legal standards in Brazil.

This article analyzes moral issues involving professional ethics in Brazil and provides appropriate up-to-date references to Brazil's Code of Deontology (1984), Code of Medical Ethics (1988), and civil and criminal codes. The analysis considers various trends that have emerged as a result of recent medical advances and discusses bioethical issues in the areas of family planning, abortion, medical research on human subjects, euthanasia, transplants, and professional confidentiality.