Bioethical perspective of ontologically-based personalism

This article presents a bioethical perspective of ontologically-based personalism. The aim of this model applied to bioethics is to provide a suitable framework for moral issues that arise from biomedical applications to human beings. Firstly, an explanation is offered on how the ethical model it proposes has an ontological foundation, with a view to associating human dignity and rights – most notably at the beginning and at the end of life – with the substantial reality of the person, as opposed to associating it with a set of capacities that an individual may or may not exhibit. The reader is then introduced to a case analysis method that links empirical data, anthropological dimensions, and ethical assessment, as well as a set of four practical principles aimed at guiding decisions in a biomedical context. Finally, it outlines the key components of a personalist, ontologically based, model, by comparing its theoretical setting and its main implications with those of some current bioethical trends.