Regulating Nanomedicine - The Smallest of Our Concerns?

Though discussion about the ethical issues that arise when looking at the medical applications of nanotechnology has mostly focused on the possibility of risks to human health, safety and the environment, the author of this article states that ethical reflection on this subject should look at the wider picture. Rather then just focusing on a precautionary approach we should also look at it from three different bioethical positions: rights-based, duty-based, and goal-oriented ethics. The author uses the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights as a guide for looking at the ethical issues of nanotechnology, which include issues of informed consent, human rights and dignity, human enhancement, and looking at the ways in which these ethical insights can help shape the future regulation of nanomedicine.