Abstract

Human dignity has a prominent role in the Hungarian Constitution. The concept of human dignity and its interpretations play an important role both in the field of bioethics and in the Hungarian law. On different levels of the Hungarian law human dignity serves as a basic pillar for the legal provisions. Reference to human dignity provides especially important arguments in the debates on euthanasia by emphasizing the right to self-determination of the terminally ill. In the debates both on the risks of emerging technologies and on the protection of vulnerable groups, such as children and psychiatric patients, human dignity plays an essential role in protecting people who are not yet or no longer fully able to exercise their right to self-determination.