Insulating ethical policymaking from politics: three views.

Above politics and beyond the law. That is what those in the field of health care ethics expect of their field, at least in the United States. We differentiate between what the law allows and what ethics expects, and we go to great lengths to champion the protection of ethical decision making from political influence and to preserve individual autonomy, personal integrity, and self-determination in the face of social pressure. We like the "supreme court" model as a structure to ensure autonomous decision making when it comes to ethical situations and deliberations. This view is consistent across organizational levels--from individual membership groups, to national commissions, to international bodies, but it is not easy to achieve, as the following articles show.