The Four Principles of Biomedical Ethics: A Foundation for Current Bioethical Debate

ABSTRACTObjectiveTo provide an overview of the four principles originally developed by Thomas Beauchamp and James Childress are now used in modern bioethical decision-making and debate and to describe several challenges to their premier status in bioethics.DiscussionThe four principles that form the core of modern bioethics discussion include autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence and justice. The originators of these principles claim that none is more important than another, yet challenges have been laid against these principles on that basis as well as on other areas of disagreement. This paper looks at the nature of the most significant of those challenges.ConclusionThe four principles have withstood challenge now for nearly 30 years and still form the basis for most decision making in both the research setting and in clinical practice within the chiropractic profession. However, professional understanding of the principles is not known and may provide a fertile area for further investigation.