[Physicians' contribution in the creation and development of bioethics in Poland]

Bioethics was created in the 70s of the last century. From this period come works written by Van Resselaer Potter and André Hellegers, in which the authors raised the issue of the need to discuss the progress and to define a new reflection, they used for the first time in the scientific literature the term bioethics. In the United States of America, as well as in European countries, institutions began to emerge in which scientific bioethical reflection was realized. In Poland in the 1970s, the socio-political situation was not conducive to the integration of scientific circles or the freedom of exchange of views. Significant progress in the field of medicine, emerging new treatment options, posed questions that had to be answered. The questions were formulated in different environments, including by doctors who themselves participated in the progress of medical sciences, introducing, for example, new increasingly aggressive treatments, or saw new challenges emerging in the medical profession, which were not regulated by the hitherto applied principles of classical medical ethics. The article describes the achievements of prof. Jan Nielubowicz, prof. Józef Bogusz and prof. Tadeusz Kielanowski in the creation of Polish bioethical regulations in the field of experimental research in humans, the activity of prof. Kornel Gibińki in the formation of Bioethics Commisions, contribution of prof. Stefan Raszeja and prof. Marek Sych in bioethical education of the society and the role of prof. Krzysztof Szczygieł in the creation of the first Polish scientific bioethical unit.