Bioethical Foundations: Human Life, Dignity, and Legal Status

Core Bioethical Principles

Moral Progress and Scientific Advancement

There is no possible scientific progress without moral progress too.

The Unity of the Human Person

Each human being is a biological, spiritual, and moral unity. What truly differentiates persons from other living beings is our capacity to behave morally.

Primacy of Human Life

The Belmont Report outlines general bioethical principles. A key principle is the primacy of present and real human life above any other interest or value. This also implies the respect for human dignity.

Understanding Human Dignity

The origin and foundation of the duty of absolute respect for human life are to be found in the dignity proper to the person, and not simply in the natural inclination to preserve one’s own physical life.

Bioethics, Law, and Society

Social Impact of Bioethical Actions

Actions against any human life have significant social impact. This is why the law must intervene.

Principles of Biojuridics

• Primacy of Human Life: Human life takes precedence over any other value with which it might conflict.
• Personal Otherness and Human Dignity: This means recognizing the dignity of every other human being.
• Principle of Justice: Aims to guarantee the same medical conditions and access for everyone.

Defining Human Life in Bioethics

Human life begins where it is possible to determine an individual human subject, regardless of their level of development, perfection, or self-realization. It does not depend on degrees of maturity or self-realization; a human being is a rational and free soul informing an individual body.

Components of the Human Being

Rational Soul

The capacity and ability to think is part of human biology.

The Human Body

There is a corresponding relationship between human intelligence and human body morphology.

These observations allow us to consider the ontological status of the embryo, protecting human life from its very beginning to its end.

The Embryo: A Human Being

From the moment of fertilization, the process of life starts. What is produced is an individual being. This individual is a person and possesses unchanged personal dignity. The timing of this 'animation' occurs at the moment of fertilization of the egg.

Ethical Considerations for Embryos

• An embryo cannot be killed.
• It is unethical to experiment with an embryo or its organs.
• It is wrong to freeze an embryo, as it goes against its nature.
• It is unfair to select one embryo among others to let it live; this constitutes eugenic selection and segregation.

Legal Status of the Human Embryo

The human embryo is not “something” but “someone.” It deserves legal recognition on a par with other humans.