Checkmate to Bioethics?

Abstract

Bioethics, as the first cousin of philosophy, suffers from what philosopher Hegel told us during his lifetime, “When philosophy paints lights and shadows, an aspect of life has grown old, and cannot be rejuvenated, but only understood. Minerva’s owl takes flight only during sundown”. The problem is how to fight an invisible opponent. What to do when your opponent enters your body and kills you from the inside? This pandemic has taken away out trust in the “Other,” even if they are our parents or children, since it turns a simple act of love —a kiss or a hug— into a deadly weapon. No one, not the richest nor the poorest country, was prepared for this. The covid-19 pandemic has put the world in check and proposes a new planetary order. Bioethics must take its most reflective streak, understand the phenomenon, and draw lessons from this heartbreaking experience so that we do not make the same mistakes again that are costing us so many bitter tears and deaths. I will present in this editorial some points that may help us to continue the debate and possibly reach agreements on how to advance in a post-COVID-19 world. Readers will find too and editorial note on our journals' numeration system. In the name of the editorial board of Revista Latinoamericana de Bioética and my own, we dedicate this issue to the heroes of this pandemic, the health professionals (doctors, nurses, para- medics, to name just a few) who have risked their lives for the most vulnerable and feeble, those who have suffered the agony of this utterly heartless coronavirus disease.