The bioethical principle of autonomy facing power: Reflections on patents in vaccines

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic intensified the ongoing debate about the legitimacy of intellectual property rights for vaccines and their alignment with bioethical principles. To understand the exclusionary power granted to pharmaceutical companies, this essay explores various conceptions of “power”, from legal-normative perspectives to those proposed by marxism, Foucault, Arendt, Forst and Habermas. This analysis prompts a reconsideration of the concept of power and its relationship with bioethical selfdetermination, questioning whether intellectual property law, a mechanism rooted in a market economy, can justify the authority of large pharmaceutical companies to restrict the health and lives of millions through its exclusionary power. Ultimately, this paper argues that the authority conferred by patent law demands a radical democratic review to align with bioethics and, most likely, to prevent the tragedies experienced during the recent pandemic.