Biomedical research and human dignity: the limits to the freedom of research

Abstract

The legitimate exercise of the fundamental right to freedom of research has led for decades to the emergence and development of important advances in the field of biomedical sciences. In some cases, these advances have very positive effects on human life, but at the same time they generate profound questions as a consequence of the enormous manipulative power they may have over human beings. The climate of uncertainty and fear that these advances foster imposes that serious solutions must be offered from ethics and law, which, in any case, must always have the dignity of the people as an insurmountable reference. This is precisely the objective pursued with this work: based on the aforementioned reference, to offer a simple and clear but at the same time rigorous explanation of the ethical and legal limits that must be imposed on freedom of research in the biomedical field.