Neurotechnology, Health and Equality: Legal Challenges and Universal Access in the Digital Age

Abstract

This article analyzes the ethical and legal challenges posed by the development of neuroscience and neurotechnology in relation to equitable access to these tools for therapeutic purposes. The research examines the impact of neurotechnologies on the right to health and the right to equality, questioning the need to recognize new rights, known as neurodights, to address the inequalities arising from their use and distribution. Through a systematic review of normative, doctrinal, and bioethical sources and international human rights instruments, as well as the analysis of emblematic cases, it is argued that existing rights, interpreted in an evolutionary and systematic manner, are sufficient to provide protection against neurotechnological risks. In particular, it is argued that the right to equality, in its material dimension, allows for the construction of legal criteria aimed at guaranteeing fair and non-discriminatory access to therapeutic neurotechnologies, preventing their concentration in privileged sectors. Finally, the challenge lies not in creating new rights, but in strengthening state responsibility, the ethical regulation of innovation, and the implementation of public policies that ensure that neurotechnologies contribute to human well-being without deepening existing structural inequalities.