Revista médica de Chile
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Bioethics arose in a delicate social and political moment in the United States of America. With time, it has become a social and perhaps political movement. Its scope is wider and different than that of medical ethics. ⋯ The emphasis in the principle of autonomy that some specialists in bioethics pose, even over the principle of beneficence, is determined, according to our judgment, by inherent factors of the North American culture. We believe that medical ethics should be distinguished even though not separated from bioethics. Physicians should go back to the Hippocratic oath as the fundamental guide for their professional activity.