Chukwuneke Fn, Umeora Ouj, Maduabuchi Ju, Egbunike N
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria ; Department of Public Health, Scholars of the South African Research Ethics Training Initiative, School of Health Sciences and Public Health University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
Department of Public Health, Scholars of the South African Research Ethics Training Initiative, School of Health Sciences and Public Health University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa ; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Federal Medical Centre Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria.
Ann Med Health Sci Res. 2014 Sep;4(5):672-5. doi: 10.4103/2141-9248.141495.
Bioethics principles and practice can be influenced by different cultural background. This is because the four globally accepted bioethics principles are often based on basic ethical codes such as autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence and justice. Beneficence/nonmaleficence requires us to maximize possible benefits, while minimizing possible harms and consequently secure the well-being of others by refraining from harming them. Autonomy gives individuals the right to self-actualization and decision-making, while justice is concerned with the fair selection and distribution of the burdens and benefits of research among participants. Applications of these principles in cultural settings vary more often from one cultural perspective to the other because of the different understanding and practices of "what is good." The proponents of global ethics may argue that these principles should be universally generalizable and acceptable, but this is not possible because of the existing cultural diversities. In the African set-up, despite the existence of major common cultural practices, there are other norms and practices, which differ from one society to the other within the communities. Therefore, the word "global" bioethics may not be applicable generally in practice except if it can account for the structural dynamics and cultural differences within the complex societies in which we live in. However, the extent to which cultural diversity should be permitted to influence bioethical judgments in Africa, which at present is burdened with many diseases, should be of concern to researchers, ethicist and medical experts taking into considerations the constantly transforming global society. This topic examines the cultural influence on principles and practice of bioethics in Africa.
生物伦理原则与实践会受到不同文化背景的影响。这是因为全球公认的四项生物伦理原则通常基于诸如自主、行善、不伤害和公正等基本道德准则。行善/不伤害要求我们尽可能扩大益处，同时将可能的伤害降至最低，从而通过不伤害他人来保障他人的福祉。自主赋予个人自我实现和决策的权利，而公正则关乎在参与者中公平地选择和分配研究的负担与益处。由于对“何为善”存在不同的理解和实践，这些原则在不同文化背景下的应用往往因文化视角的不同而存在差异。全球伦理的支持者可能会认为这些原则应具有普遍的可推广性和可接受性，但由于现存的文化多样性，这是不可能的。在非洲的背景下，尽管存在主要的共同文化习俗，但在各个社群中，不同社会之间还存在其他规范和实践。因此，“全球”生物伦理这个词在实践中可能并不普遍适用，除非它能考虑到我们所生活的复杂社会中的结构动态和文化差异。然而，在目前饱受多种疾病困扰的非洲，文化多样性应在多大程度上影响生物伦理判断，这应该是研究人员、伦理学家和医学专家在考虑不断变化的全球社会时所关注的问题。本主题探讨文化对非洲生物伦理原则与实践的影响。
