Portugal

This chapter’s aim is not to give a historical perspective or an exhaustive review of the path of bioethics in Portugal but rather to address selected topics which have been and still are prominent in the bioethical debate, some of them attracting the interest of large sections of the population. In order to do this, the institutions where bioethics are discussed, taught, or researched as well as the many activities of these institutions will be described. As a result of such discussion and research, public awareness of bioethical problems is much broader and the laity’s contributions in these matters are leading to political and legal consequences of paramount importance. This chapter will focus principally on the situation in the last decade, since information concerning earlier years is to be found in older review articles (Biscaia, J., & Osswald, W. (1995). Bioética in Portugal: 1991-1993. In B. Andrew Lustig (Ed.), Bioethics yearbook (Vol. 4, pp. 285-289). Amsterdam: Kluwer; Biscaia, J., & Osswald, W. (2007). Bioética em Portugal: História e perspectivas. In L. Pessini & P. Bauchifontaine (Eds.), Bioética na Iberoamérica (pp. 277-289). São Paulo: Ed. Loyola; Nunez, M. P., & Abel, F. (1992). Bioethics in Portugal: 1989-1991. In B. A. Lustig (Ed.), Bioethics yearbook (Vol. 2, pp. 265-271). Amsterdam: Kluwer).