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Bioethical problems arise within any society whether it be biotechnologically advanced or not. However, the more a society becomes biotechnologically advanced, the more the number of bioethical issues and their importance tend to increase. The attention-grabbing bioethical issues such as "animal or human cloning", "artificial reproduction", "designer children", "surrogate motherhood", "xenotransplantation", and "genetically modified food" may have great impact on the future of human society, and have therefore attracted the spotlight on the stage of bioethics-they interest both the academics and the general public. Yet the majority of bioethical problems occur in day-to-day medical decision making and remain within the boundaries of the relationships between health care professionals, patients and their families.
I. The physician-patient relationship and the principles of medical ethics
In 1955, Szasz and Hollender proposed three models of the doctor-patient relationship, namely the "activity-passivity model", the "guidance-cooperation model", and the "mutual participation model", which simulate respectively the prototype of parent-infant, parent-child (adolescent) and adult-adult models of communication. 1 However, the consumer movement of the 60s and 70s promoted the "mutual participation relationship" between doctors and patients, and the traditional paternalistic models were in general refuted by modern bioethics. Respecting the wishes of patients more than merely promoting their welfare has increasingly become central to certain Western bioethics theories.
On the other hand, one may consider the question "how should doctors approach their patients" now being answered by a principles-oriented bioethics. In other words, moral principles are used as the ethical guidelines for medical practice and research, which concomitantly defines how doctors should treat their patients. Different authors have proposed different moral principles. For example, Beauchamp and Childress put forward the principle of "respect for autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice" as the principles of biomedical ethics. 2 Downie and Calman indicated the principles of "utility, justice, non-maleficence, compassion (benevolence), and self-development", governed by the principle of "respect for the autonomous individual" as the consensus principles. 3 Engelhardt suggested the principles of "permission" and "beneficence" as the principles of bioethics. 4 Veatch identified a set of moral principles which included "utility, veracity, fidelity to promises, avoid killing, justice, and autonomy" as principles of right actions. 5 Macer has argued that love should be the foundation of bioethics, and presented his bioethical principles in...