The role of bioethics in coping with racism

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present reflections on racism, bring it to the present day and think, through bioethics, ways to make it visible, to understand it and to face it. Methodologically, reflections on racism and race were initially presented, based on the historical perspective raised by the Cameroonian author Achille Mbembe; after that and based on a bibliographical review of articles produced in North American universities, a discussion was helda about the presence of racism in the bioethical agenda and whether it was prepared to face the issue; finally, the position of Latin American of bioethics on the subject of racism and its preoccupattion with persistent social issues was discussed. It was concluded that Bioethics must emphasize the debate on the theme of racism, power operations, hierarchization and its impacts in the present days, in order to continue acting in a truly critical way against inequities.