• Dipl.-Päd. Ulrike Henckel 

16.–17.2.2006: 

Participants of this Europäische Akademie-hosted meeting on “Medical Ethics and Law” were experts from the fields of law, medicine, and philosophy. The colloquium took off with a lecture by Professor Dr. Huster (Ruhr-Universität Bochum) on age-based rationing. Huster argued that the “chronological age” of a patient might serve as a criteria for a transparent and fair allocation of medical resources. The subsequent lecture by Professor Dr. Dr. Hilgendorf (Universität Würzburg), given in co-operation with the Medical Ethics Working Group, dealt with the topic “Abortion and Assisted Suicide. Legal Issues at the Boudaries of Life”. According to Huster, there are considerable inconsistencies in the present legislation and jurisdiction regarding abortion and assisted suicide. In his lecture, Dr. Thiele (Europäische Akademie) examined the increasing juridification of medicine having a strong influence on the doctor-patient relationship. He proposed a reconstruction of this relationship based on a (moral) contract, both preserving the typical qualities of the docter-patient relationship and in keeping with the existing demand for regulation. Susanne Beck (Universität Würzburg) subsequently explained the hope that penologic norms may help to solve bio-legal problems. She argued that this cannot be achieved in a satisfactory way and that civil and public law are more appropriate avenues for regulating bio-medicine than penal law.