Bioethics in Portugal

During the early developmental stages of bioethics as a new area of science and ethics, its impact reached far beyond America, quickly pervading other countries. Portugal was an exception to the common occurrence of a fast and immediate incorporation of bioethics which many countries experienced. In fact, the first organized group devoted to the study of bioethics in Portugal was not formally established until 1988 when the Center of Bioethical Studies (Centro de Estudos de Bioética) in Coimbra, a non-profit, independent organization which had evolved from an informal discussion group, was founded. Since then, there has been a remarkable evolution and rapid expansion of bioethics in Portugal, with a relatively large number of students enrolling in graduate programs and Master’s courses in bioethics. This has led to a significant number of individuals, coming from diverse backgrounds (doctors, nurses, philosophers, theologians, teachers, and so forth), to consider themselves bioethicists.