The Intersection of Bioethics, Public Order, and Medical Law: An Overview of Core Principles in Bioethics

The concept of public policy, as a significant and recognized principle, is not solely confined to a specific branch of law. It serves as a general rule governing all areas of law, including medical law. Medical law, which was once overshadowed by medical ethics, has now, due to the development and transformation of human societies, advancements in medical and health sciences, the resulting formation of new social and cultural relationships, and the emergence of jurisprudential, ethical, philosophical, and customary sensitivities and challenges in the context of these advancements, become an independent, developing, and highly important field of study. The life, health, and well-being of the human body and soul are of such importance that they challenge the principle of freedom of contract in the field of medical law. Furthermore, with the emergence of novel phenomena in medical science and healthcare, specific attention must be paid to the legal criteria for legitimizing these novel phenomena in the medical field. Legislators have consistently sought to protect the human body and physical integrity, often referred to as physical personality. Public policy is one of the legal institutions that can assist the legislator in achieving this goal. Ethics is a crucial aspect of medical law, so much so that a new field of ethics, known as bioethics, has emerged. Moreover, ethics is a branch and source of public policy in its general sense. Therefore, it can be concluded that ethics is a common ground between medical law and public policy. To clarify the role of public policy in medical law, the role of bioethics must also be considered. This research aims to examine the role of the legal institution of public policy in the extent of freedom of contract in medical law and in legitimizing and validating emerging phenomena in medical science.