One of the current concerns within public health relates to the type of responsibility that could legitimately be demanded from individuals regarding their health. In particular, it is asked whether some form of penalization against behavior that is not considered healthful can be morally justified. Bioethics applied to the morality of public health actions has the aims of both ensuring the access standards to a healthcare system with universal coverage and developing human capacities. It therefore has to face the conflict between the principles of social justice and individual autonomy, weighing up protection of health for those who need this, versus the basic freedoms of each and every one. For this, bioethics and public health will have to interrogate the biopolitical effects inscribed in sanitary policies, situated at the crossroads between the Age of Rights and the State of Exception.
Bioethics; Public health; Autonomy; Biopolitics; Health promotion