Sex and gender differences in women’s health care are delineated. Models of the physician-patient relationship and casuistic and principlist methods of moral reasoning are critiqued on grounds of their lack of conformity with an egalitarian approach to bioethical issues. The question of “who is the patient” in health care of pregnant women is discussed. Ethically relevant similarities and differences between professional guidelines and regulatory statutes regarding health care are also examined.
Keywords: gender differences, physician-patient relationship, casuistry, principlism, patient, pregnant woman, professional guidelines, regulatory statutes, women’s health care, egalitarian perspective