Deliberative Democracy as a Valuable Approach in Bioethics

At a time of a rising tide of anti-democratic sentiments such as disinformation and authoritarianism, bioethics ought to actively engage in building opportunities for citizen participation to address questions at the intersection of ethics and policy through a process known as democratic deliberation (“DD”). Originating from political theories, DD is grounded on the understanding that citizen participation in providing informed and reasoned input is desirable in a liberal democracy. In bioethics, DD aims to engage laypersons in normative discussions about ethical issues, with the ultimate goal of guiding ethical decision-making processes. Because Bioethics is concerned with the normative opinions of lay persons and aims to be guided by them, DD and Bioethics are considered to be “natural allies.”

Research has shown that DD can be a valuable tool in bioethics and is more effective than traditional survey methods of eliciting normative opinions on controversial ethical issues, provided that methodological precautions are implemented carefully. DD in bioethics entails the selection of a representative sample of laypersons, who are provided with accurate, unbiased, and comprehensive information about the ethical issue at hand. DD typically involves multiple rounds of deliberation, with participants encouraged to reflect on their own opinions and engage with the opinions of others. The results of DD sessions are used to inform ethical decision-making processes, with the normative opinions of participants being taken into account. This presentation will, among others, examine how DD can be utilized to enhance citizen engagement in bioethics and contribute to more robust ethical decision-making processes.