Research on Embryos and Human Dignity (original) (raw)
Related papers
The legal status of the human embryo
Reproductive BioMedicine Online, 2007
The contribution attempts to clarify the legal status of the human embryo according to basic principles of law by taking the German law as a model. Two decisions of the German Constitutional Court on abortion stipulate a constitutional right to life for every individual embryo. This inclusive interpretation of the respective articles of the German Constitution yields a principled verdict on elective abortions: according to the court, they are 'illegal, albeit not punishable'. A closer analysis, however, reveals that this ruling exhibits a self-destructive contradiction. It is shown that due to fundamental requirements of the validity of norms of law, elective abortions are legal under German law, regardless of how they are labelled. This true (as opposed to the merely alleged) legal situation is incompatible with a constitutional right to life of embryos. Hence, the question whether the ordinary law statutes regulating a comprehensive prohibition of preimplantation genetic diagnosis and of embryo research in Germany should be amended is not prejudiced by constitutional law. Ethical analysis shows that the protective duty we owe to early human embryos does not belong in the realm of the 'do no harm' principle, but corresponds to a prima facie duty of solidarity. This weak 'positive' obligation is amplified by considerations pertaining to the protection of the fundamental texture of our basic normative institutions. However, it can be outweighed by the conflicting obligations that society has vis-à-vis born human persons.
2012
Human embryonic stem cell research has generated much hope, but also fear and repulsion. National legislators, as well as the European Parliament, the European Patent Office and the European Court of Justice have had to make decisions relating to what is or is not allowed in the field of hESC research and patenting, and their decisions are often difficult to reconcile. In order to understand this divergence and the specific restrictions that different regulators impose, insight is needed into the different opinions regarding the moral status of the pre-implantation embryo (blastocyst), into the moral distinction between using spare embryos versus research embryos, and into the moral distinction between producing hESC lines and using them for non-commercial research and allowing such production and research in a commercial or industrial setting. While one need not agree that all of these perceived differences are in fact morally relevant, knowing that many people perceive them as bei...
Some Problems Related to the “Human Embryo” in the European Union Law
International conference KNOWLEDGE-BASED ORGANIZATION, 2016
The following article is dedicated to the topic of human dignity-the human embryos and the legal framework they are regulated by in the EU: The Charter of Fundamental Rights of European Union and the EU Court practice. For the purpose, the authors look first and foremost at the EU Directive 98/44, regulating the legal protection of biotechnological inventions which aim at balancing the human beings' dignity and integrity with the need to preserve the social function of patents as a vector for the competiveness of the European biotech industry. Two key EU Court cases are analyzed, both of which reflecting the evolution of the Court of Justice on the European Union's Case Law on Stem Cell Patents, namely Case C-34/10 Oliver Brüstle v Greenpeace е. V. and Case C-364/13 International Stem Cell Corporation. The article looks then at the European Citizens' Initiative "One of us", which aims at securing Juridical protection of the dignity, the right to life, as well as to the integrity of every human being from conception in those areas of EU competence where such protection has a particular importance.
Reproductive BioMedicine Online, 2006
Due to the Embryo Protection Act, creation of supernumerary embryos, as well as egg and embryo donation, is prohibited in Germany. Human stem cell research is regulated through the Act on stem cells that came into force in 2002. A cross-sectional survey of 101 IVF couples (n=202) in two fertility centres, and representative samples of healthcare professionals and ethicists (n=879), was carried out, and their attitudes towards embryonic stem cell research and donation of gametes and embryos compared. A clear majority of IVF couples favoured legalization of egg and embryo donation and embryonic stem cell research for various purposes. The willingness of couples to donate was related to purpose and to other independent influences. The majority of physicians voted for legalization of embryonic stem cell production from surplus embryos. Most human geneticists and obstetricians approved egg, but not embryo, donation to other couples. Ethicists and midwives were opposed to every kind of donation and research on surplus embryos. The IVF couples surveyed have positive attitudes towards donation and research using surplus embryos, whereas the healthcare professionals and ethicists are predominantly sceptical about most research activities destroying human embryos. This difference should be considered carefully in legal and ethical discussions on reprogenetics.
Politics and the Life Sciences, 1999
The European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE), * Editor's Note: As a service to our readers interested in the policy dilemmas associated with new technologies in the life sciences, we publish in this issue a November 23, 1998 report on "Ethical Aspects of Research Involving the Use of Human Embryos in the Context of the Fifth Framework Program," authored by the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (formerly the Group of Advisers on the Ethical Implications of Biotechnology of the European Commission). The group, which began work in 1991, is charged with finding ways to reconcile technological progress and ethical imperatives. Its opinions "help guide the European Community in its legislative and other activities." Those interested in acquiring more information should contact Isabelle Arnal, European Commission, Secretariat-General,
A RIGHT TO HEALTH PERSPECTIVE ON EMBRYO RESEARCH: SYNERGIES, GAPS AND OPPORTUNITIES ABSTRACT: The significant progress made in biology research has revealed the key role of human stem cells in the discovery of medical treatments. What has emerged, in particular, is the revolutionary capability of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) to differentiate into any other specialised cell of the human body. The capability to be pluripotent makes these cells as an essential and invaluable resource for both the analysis of the embryos themselves and the discovery of new therapies for untreated diseases. However, because hESCs are derived from the inner mass of a blastocyst -a very early embryo -some ethical concerns arise about the need to destroy a human embryo to extract the cell lines. In some States, including Italy, such concerns have led to legal restrictions at the national level, such as the absolute ban to donate supernumerary embryos left over after fertility treatments and no more intended for implantation, for research purpose. Attention is dedicated to the relevant synergies and worrying gaps that exist between embryo research and the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health. The final goal is to identify potential opportunities to maximise the benefits of scientific progress and ensure compliance between embryo research and the right to health. It is worth noting that, although the right to the benefits of science and its applications and the right to life are addressed throughout the research, this work primarily focuses on the right to health.
This article aims to bear further discussion on the disputed legal issue that centres on identifying a possible ontological qualification of the embryo. Notably, this article explores how scientific research and various medical treatments can affect the legal status of embryos. We consider, from a comparative point of view, domestic and international legal orders as well as specific legal venues such as courts, to show how the law and judicial interpretation of it can interact as legal formants to influence the legal qualification of the embryo. This article considers the law as a mere legal venue for establishing a possible uniform ontological qualification of the embryo hinging on the concept of human dignity. In fact, human dignity, as opposed to legal formants, can be used to define the internal and external limits to a proper legal qualification of the embryo. This is because human dignity informs the discourse on 'life', and we term this approach as a predetermined and unqualified connotation of life itself. Indeed, this approach can now be used to construct a possible limit to any interference, modification, or evaluation that can directly affect the legal qualification of the embryo tout court.
The ambiguity of the embryo: ethical inconsistency in the human embryonic stem cell debate
Metaphilosophy, 2007
"We argue in this essay that (1) the embryo is an irredeemably ambiguous entity and its ambiguity casts serious doubt on the arguments claiming its full protection or, at least, protection against its use as a means for stem cell research, (2) those who claim the embryo should be protected as ‘‘one of us’’ are committed to a position even they do not uphold in their practices, (3) views that defend the protection of the embryo in virtue of its potentiality to become a person fail, and (4) the embryo does not have any rights or interests to be protected. Given that many are willing to treat the embryo as a means in other practices, and that human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research holds great potential to benefit many people, one cannot but conclude that hESC research is permissible and, because of its immense promise for alleviating human suffering, even obligatory."