1. E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė
The developments of Bioethics in Lithuania – Problems and Future Perspectives
Bioethics in Europe and Lithuania, September 2005
E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė

2. How to evaluate the developments?
Legal documents
Publications on bioethics
Institutions
Public debate
Bioethics in Europe and Lithuania, September 2005
E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė

3. Legal documents relevant to bioethics
International:
CoE Bioethics Convention and APs
EU Directive on Clinical trails
National:
e.g., laws on patients rights, biomedical research, transplantation…
Bioethics in Europe and Lithuania, September 2005
E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė

4. Lithuanian publications on bioethics
EURETHNET database:
Bioethics in Europe and Lithuania, September 2005
E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė

5. E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė
Institutions
Academic centers
teaching bioethics and biolaw at Kaunas Medical University, Vilnius University, M. Romeris University
Lithuanian Bioethics Society, 2002
Committees:
regional RECs,
HECs
LBEC:
Established 1995
Part time positions for the chairman and secretary
To deal with negligence cases
Bioethics in Europe and Lithuania, September 2005
E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė

6. Lithuanian Bioethics Committee
Gradual growth of the institution
Shift from “negligence cases body” to policy making institution:
E.g., field of biomedical research, health legislation
International cooperation and networking
Bioethics in Europe and Lithuania, September 2005
E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė

7. International cooperation and networking:
Council of Europe
DEBRA meetings 1998, 1999
2004 ‘Training in Research Ethics’ EU
‘European Programme for Teaching Bioethics in Healthcare Institutions’ (EHBP)
PRIVIREAL - ends in This project has aimed to analyse how European countries deal with Directive 95/46/EC
‘BioTethed’ ethical problems raised by new biotechnologies
UNESCO
11-12 November, 2002 the International Conference on Bioethics in Eastern and Central Europe
13 - September, 2004 Regional Bioethics Information Centre
ESPMH conference, 2003
Baltic-Nordic network on research ethics
Planning meeting - November 2005
Bioethics in Europe and Lithuania, September 2005
E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė

8. E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė
Public debate and Problems! Bosch “The Garden of Earthly Delights”,1504
Bioethics in Europe and Lithuania, September 2005
E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė

9. Topics of public debate I
Prisoner participating in a clinical trial: should the law be followed?
Advertising “embryonic stem cell therapy”: cheating or last resort measure?
Bioethics in Europe and Lithuania, September 2005
E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė

10. E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė
Bioethics in Europe and Lithuania, September 2005
E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė

11. Topics of public debate II
Compensation of the early prenatal testing for genetic syndromes or nerve tube abnormalities: eugenics or equitable access?
Two draft laws on IVF has been in the Parliament for more than 1 year: is donation of gametes justified?
Law on sex change: draft blocked in the Parliament
UN debate on “therapeutic cloning”: should the country which does not allow TC, seek to forbid it at the international level?
Bioethics in Europe and Lithuania, September 2005
E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė

12. Bioethics I (Encyclopedia of Bioethics, 1995)
the systematic study of the moral dimensions – including moral vision, decisions, moral conduct and policies – of the life sciences and health care, employing a variety of ethical methodologies in an interdisciplinary setting     
Bioethics in Europe and Lithuania, September 2005
E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė

13. E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė
Bioethics II (O’Neil, 2002)
Bioethics is not a discipline … It has become a meeting ground for a number of disciplines, discourses and organizations concerned with ethical, legal, and social questions raised by advances in medicine, science, and biotechnology”
Philosophy and ethics, law, sociology, biomedicine,… each discipline offers different paradigm of interpreting phenomena..
Bioethics in Europe and Lithuania, September 2005
E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė

14. Bioethics III (R.Baker)
“The first generation” bioethics as a protest movement inspired by
Rejection of metaethics
Egalitarianism and urging clinicians to accept the voice of the patient
Bioethics in Europe and Lithuania, September 2005
E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė

15. E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė
What is bioethics?!
The scope:
Narrow – “red bioethics”
Wide – “green bioethics”
Multidisciplinarity:
Philosophy/ethics/….
Law
Medicine …
“Academic” vs. “public policy”
Religious vs. secular
Bioethics in Europe and Lithuania, September 2005
E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė

16. E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė
Scope
Should the “Red” and “Green” bioethics be dealt with by one institution/committee?
How to establish a “multi-institutional” organization?
Bioethics in Europe and Lithuania, September 2005
E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė

17. E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė
Multidisciplinarity
Biomedical professionals sometimes think of bioethics as an obstacle to the progress of biomedical science (e.g., stem cell research or ethical review of biomedical research projects in general)
Philosophers criticize bioethics as being a populist and simplistic application of normative ethics (e.g., “Georgetown mantra”, “infraethics”, etc.)
Lawyers might be unsatisfied by dilemmatic character of bioethical discourse not resulting in any clear policy or legal framework. This opinion might be seconded by biomedical professionals as well.
Bioethics in Europe and Lithuania, September 2005
E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė

18. Public policy vs. academic scholarly activity
There is a deep conflict between
the goals and constraints of the public policy process and
the aims of academic scholarly activity (Dan Brock, 1997)
Bioethics in Europe and Lithuania, September 2005
E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė

19. E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė
Academic activity
to follow the argument wherever it leads and regardless of the consequences (primary commitment to knowledge and truth)
(particularly philosophers) to question and critically examine all assumptions.
Policy-makers
are concentrating on the consequences for public policy and the people affected by it
the agenda of public policymakers is limited by political realities – not everything can be open to criticism and modification.
Bioethics in Europe and Lithuania, September 2005
E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė

20. Critique of the CoE Bioethics Convention
“Philosophical reflections” (G.Hottois), “ethical perspective” (M.Duwell)
vagueness and escapism from the most pressing bioethical (conceptual and normative) issues:
“Individual”, “person”, “human being”, “everybody”, “beginning of human life”,
Human dignity?
“Equitable access to health care”
“Previously expressed wishes” etc.
Bioethics in Europe and Lithuania, September 2005
E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė

21. E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė
3 D for Bioethics
Dialogue between different professional groups
Dialogue between academics and policy makers
Dialogue between different worldviews
Is it possible? I hope, yes. However,
Bioethics in Europe and Lithuania, September 2005
E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė

22. Bioethics: story about chocolate and garlic
“Philosophy is fine, and science is fine, but combined they are the mixture of garlic and chocolate” (Bleuler, 1921)
Bioethics in Europe and Lithuania, September 2005
E. Gefenas, A.Čekanauskaitė, V. Lukaševičienė