[On the applicability of the North American principlism]

The four prima facie principles proposed for bioethics by Beauchamp and Childress (principlism) has been one of the most followed bioethical paradigms, gaining a prominent place not only in United States, but in many other parts of the world. This model has been criticized from different points of view, especially in the last fifteen years. One of the major objections to principlism is the difficulty of applying the system to real bioethical dilemmas. The essential problem of the system, apart from an absence of hierarchy among the four principles, is an absence of a clear framework of human goods (anthropologically speaking) which are necessary to protect. Consequently, in the face of an ethical dilemma two opposite solutions can be reached using one principle or another. The authors offer as a solution to these difficulties the specification and consideration of the principles and rules. However, in many cases, this is not sufficient.