Of Principles and Ends. Feminist Approaches to the Bioethical Reflection in Biotechnological Contexts

Abstract

Since the publication of the structure of the DNA molecule, in 1953, until today genetic knowledge has grown exponentially. In a context with fragmented health systems, with the drive of the private sector for the commercialization of techniques and products, and the rush for the definition of an agenda for global governance, what is the role that bioethics and its principles can assume in the new era led by the fusion of biological sciences, information technologies, and genetic engineering? To answer this question, first, the continuities and ruptures presented by emerging biotechnological applications —such as CRISPR/Cas9— that confront us with clinical, ethical, political, and regulatory challenges are described; secondly, the principle-based approaches, the presuppositions of the bioethical imperative and the precautionary principle are analyzed as a deontological framework that has defined the discussions on responsible research and innovation. The insufficiency of traditional bioethical principles leads to the proposal, in the last section, of an alternative approach that, from the prism of feminist epistemologies, challenges the practices and promotes the construction of situated knowledges.