Bioethics in basic pediatrics

Abstract

Bioethic matters in pediatrics has generally been concerned with hospital practice issues. But the generai pediatric practitioner also faces many, probably different, problems involved in some ethical aspects. This matter leads the author to consider some topics strictly related to pediatric daily practice: consent and dissent to the therapy, contraception in adolescent people, clinical trials in pediatrics, optional vaccinations, care of defective newborn, veracity in pediatric practice, harm/benefit relationship in child care. In every topic the good of the child is pointed out as the fundamental rule in a personalistic view of these ethical challenges.