Bioethics is “a critical examination of the moral dimensions of decision-making in health-related contexts and in contexts involving the biological sciences”(Samuel Grorovitz)
The two recent documents, “ Donum Vitae” and the encyclical “The Gospel of Life” help us to form our moral decisions on these fast developing areas. These documents very strongly assert the sanctity of life from the moment of conception and condemn all acts of destroying and tampering with human life at its very initial, embryonic stage.
“The Gospel of Life” not only speaks for the inalienable rights of the human being at its embryonic stage but also denounces any attempt that promotes euthanasia and assisted suicide. It asserts very powerfully the fact that man is only the steward of life and not its master. God is the author of life and, hence man, according to the encyclical, should not arrogate to himself the power to annihilate human life.
It also takes into account other factors that enhance the quality of life like respecting the ecological balance, alleviation of poverty etc.
“Donum Vitae” takes up each new issue in the reproductive technology and shows how all these efforts at creating new embryos would also involve the destruction of other unwanted embryos which means the killing of innocent human beings when they are voiceless.
Excerpts from the Instruction on Respect for Human life in its
Origin and on the dignity of Procreation (Donum Vitae):
(Issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,1987)
“From the moment of conception, the life of every human being is to be respected in an absolute way because man is the only creature on earth that “God has wished for himself….God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can, in any circumstance, claim for himself the right to destroy directly an innocent human being.”
“ From the time that the ovum is fertilized, a new life is begun which is neither that of the father nor of the mother; it is rather the life of a new human being with his own growth…
“Right from fertilization is begun the adventure of a human life, and each of its great capacities requires time…to find its place and to be in a position to act….This teaching remains valid and is further confirmed…by recent findings of human biological science which recognize that in the zygote, resulting from fertilization the biological identity of a new human individual is already constituted.
“ Thus the fruit of human generation, from the first moment of its existence, that is to say from the moment the zygote (the cell produced when the two gametes have fused) has formed, demands the unconditional respect that is morally due to the human being in his bodily and spiritual totality.
“The human being is to be respected and treated as a person from the moment of conception; and therefore from that same moment his rights as a person must be recognized.
“ Since the embryo must be treated as a person, it must also be defended in its integrity, and tended and cared for in the same way as any other human being as far as medical assistance is concerned.(p.14)
“The new technological possibilities which have opened up in the field of biomedicine require the intervention of political authorities and of the legislator, since an uncontrolled application of such techniques could lead to unforeseeable and damaging consequences for civil society.
“The task of the civil law is to ensure the common good of people through the recognition and the defense of fundamental rights and through the promotion of peace and public morality….The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority. These human rights depend neither on single individuals nor on parents; nor do they represent a concession made by society and the State: they pertain to human nature and are inherent in the person by virtue of the creative act from which the person took his or her origin”(p.36)
“Among such fundamental rights one should mention in this regard:
every human being’s right to life and physical integrity from the moment of conception until death;
the rights of the family and of marriage as an institution, and in this areas, the child’s right to be conceived, brought into the world and brought up by his parents.
“When the State does not place its power at the service of the rights of each citizen, and in particular of the more vulnerable, the very foundations of a State based on law are undermined.
“The law cannot tolerate—indeed it must expressly forbid—that human beings, even at the embryonic stage, should be treated as objects of experimentation, be mutilated or destroyed with the excuse that they are superfluous or incapable of developing normally.
“Civil law cannot grant approval to techniques of artificial procreation, which for the benefit of third parties(doctors, biologists, economic or governmental powers), take away what is a right inherent in the relationship between spouses; and therefore civil law cannot legalize the donation of gametes between persons who are not legitimately united in marriage.
“ Legislation must also prohibit, by virtue of the support which is due to the family, embryo banks, post mortem insemination and “surrogate motherhood.”
The Gospel of Life(1995)
Another source of guidance for Catholics is the encyclical, “ Evangelium Vitae”which once again affirms the sanctity of life and the need to protect the rights of the unborn.
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“We are confronted by a reality which can be described as a veritable structure of sin. This reality is characterized by the emergence of a culture which denied solidarity and in many cases takes the form of a “veritable” culture of death.(22)
“This culture is actively fostered by powerful cultural, economic and political currents which encourage an idea of society excessively concerned with efficiency( Other phrases used to describe the present-day culture against life: conspiracy against life and contraceptive mentality).
“Contraception and abortion are often closely connected, as fruits of the same tree.
“The various techniques of artificial reproduction …actually open the door to new threats against life….These reduce human life to the level of simple “biological” material to be freely disposed of.
Threats hang over the incurably ill and the dying…All this is aggravated by a cultural climate which fails to perceive any meaning or value in suffering, but rather considers suffering the epitome of evil, to be eliminated at all costs.(27)
“The State is no longer the common home where all can live together on the basis of principles of fundamental equality, but is transformed into a tyrant state, which arrogates to itself the right to dispose of the life of the weakest and most defenseless members, from the unborn to the elderly, in the name of a public interest which is really nothing but the interest of one part.(36)
To claim the right to abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia, and to recognize the right in law, means to attribute to human freedom a perverse and evil significance: that of an absolute power over others and against others. This is the death of true freedom.
“The eclipse of the sense of God and of man inevitably leads to a practical materialism, which breeds individualism, utilitarianism and hedonism….The so-called “quality of life” is interpreted primarily or exclusively as economic efficiency, inordinate consumerism etc to the detriment of more profound dimensions—of existence.
“In such a context suffering, an inescapable burden of human existence but also a factor of possible personal growth, is censored, rejected as useless, indeed opposed as an evil, always and in every way to be avoided.
“Procured abortion is the deliberate and direct killing, by whatever means it is carried out, of a human being in the initial phase of his or her existence..(104)
“From the time the ovum is fertilized, a life is begun which is neither that of the father nor the mother;it is rather the life of a new human being with his own growth.
“Human life is sacred and inviolable at every moment of existence, including the initial phase which precedes birth(109).
“This evaluation of the morality of abortion is to be applied also to the recent forms of intervention on human embryos which, although carried out for purposes legitimate in themselves, inevitably involve the killing of those embryos. This is the case with experimentation on embryos, which is increasingly widespread in the field of biomedical research.
“It must be stated that the use of human embryos or fetuses as an object of experimentation constitutes a crime against their dignity as human beings who have a right to the same respect owed to a child once born, just as to every person(113).
“This moral condemnation also regards procedures that exploit living human embryos and fetuses—sometimes specifically “produced” for the purpose by in vitro fertilization—either to be used as “biological material” or as providers of organs or tissues for transplants in the treatment of certain diseases. The killing of innocent human creatures, even if carried out to help others, constitutes an absolutely unacceptable act (114).
“Abortion and euthanasia are crimes which no human law can claim to legitimize(133).There is no obligation in conscience to obey such laws; instead there is a grave and clear obligation to oppose them by conscientious objection.(133).
Experimentation on human subjects:
We often find that experiments are being done on human beings either for therapeutic needs or for the advance of research.
What are the norms to be adopted in these cases? One of the important principles to be observed in these experiments is the need to get the free and informed consent of the person. The Charter for Health Care, promulgated by the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care workers (1994) lays the following guidelines:
“Such experiments can be done only if the patient explicitly or implicitly (directly or indirectly) authorizes the health care worker. The choice may be made with full awareness and freedom and the patient should be given a precise idea of his illness and the therapeutic possibilities, with the risks, the problems and the consequences that they entail”. Dr. William May calls it the “The canon of loyalty” or The Principle of Free and Informed Consent”(The Catholic Bioethics,p.201).
Gene Therapy:
A lot of advances are made in the field of genetics and a new field has arisen called “Gene Therapy” whose goal is to treat human diseases by correcting the “genetic defects or by adding new genes to the patient in order to provide or enhance a given therapeutic operation.”
This is possible because of the knowledge in molecular biology and DNA research (Deoxyribo nucleic acid). Diseases involving genetic defects can be corrected in this way.
( “Each human cell has a nucleus containing chromosomes. “Each chromosome is made up of DNA which takes the form of a double –stranded helix, and attached to each strand of the helix is a series of alternating nucleotides called bases. DNA is the genetic alphabet and its bases are the letters of the alphabet. There are only four such bases or letters. The sequence of bases on either strand of the DNA constitutes a gene, the basic unit of heredity whereby traits are passed on from generation to another.”(May,p.217)
“Scientists realize that the substitution of even one letter for another can cause a cell to produce a given enzyme or protein essential for the normal functioning of the organism. If the organism is not functioning properly because of an error in the language of the DNA, it is possible, in the light of the new breakthroughs in molecular biology and recombinant DNA, to put the right letter into the pertinent genetic word, to replace the one that is incorrect and in this way to correct a given genetically –induced defect.
Morality of Somatic Cell Gene Therapy:
“Such therapy is morally warranted as long as the risks posed by this new type of therapy are not significant when compared with reasonable expectation that employment of such therapy will indeed bring great benefit to the patient.” (p.219)
Pre-Implantation Screening:
Pre-implantation diagnosis and screening of human embryos have grown out of the technology of in vitro fertilization. The principal aim of such screening is to determine whether embryos in question are at risk of suffering from serious disease or anomaly. Diagnosis and screening are immoral if their purpose is to terminate their lives by refusing to implant them in their mother’s wombs. But they can be done if it is possible to use gene therapy to correct a possible serious malady (May,p.223).
Genetic Counseling:
“Genetic counseling may be provided in order to promote responsible parenthood and to prepare for the proper treatment and care of children with genetic defects, in accordance with Catholic moral teaching. (May, p.224)
The Human Genome Project:
The Human Genome Project (HGP) is an international research program whose goal is to map in detail the positions of genes on their respective chromosomes. Its purpose is to determine the complete nucleotide sequence of human DNA, and to localize the estimated 50,000-100,000 genes on each of the 46 human chromosomes within the human genome. This knowledge can be used to develop new kinds of genetic therapy.
Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide:
“The principal difference between euthanasia and assisted suicide is that in euthanasia a person other than the one killed is the principal cause of the killing whereas in assisted suicide the person killed is himself or herself the principal cause while the physician or other person formally cooperates in the killing act and is, as it were, an instrumental cause” (May, 239).
“The intentional killing of ourselves or others, no matter what the reason is, is a choice that sets us against the inherent goodness of human life, of this great and incomparable good gift that God has given us.”(May, 248)
The Guidelines given by “Donum Vitae:”
1.Is Prenatal diagnosis morally licit?
“If prenatal diagnosis respects the life and integrity of the embryo and the human fetus and is directed towards its safeguarding or healing as an individual, then the answer is affirmative.
“A woman would be committing a gravely illicit act if she were to request such a diagnosis with the deliberate intention of having an abortion should the results confirm the existence of a malformation or abnormality (p.15).
2. Are therapeutic procedures carried out on the human embryo licit?
As with all medical interventions on patients one must uphold as licit procedures carried out on the human embryo which respect the life and integrity of the embryo and do not involve disproportionate risks…(p.15)
3. Research and Experimentation on human embryos and fetuses:
“Medical research must refrain from operations on live embryos, unless there is a moral certainty of not causing harm to the life or integrity of the unborn child and the mother.
“If embryos are living, whether viable or not, they must be respected just like any other human person; experimentation on embryos which is not directly therapeutic is illicit.
“No objective, even though noble in itself, such as a foreseeable advantage to science, to other human beings, or to society, can in any way justify experimentation on living embryos or fetuses, whether viable or not, either inside or outside the mother’s womb.
4. Research on embryos obtained by fertilization “in vitro.”
“Human embryos obtained in vitro are human beings and subjects with rights: their dignity and right to life must be respected from the first moment of their existence. It is immoral to produce human embryos destined to be exploited as disposable “biological material”(p.18).
“In the usual practice of in vitro fertilization, not all of the embryos are transferred to the woman’s body; some are destroyed. Just as the Church condemns induced abortion, so she also forbids acts against the life of these human beings….It is not in conformity with the moral law deliberately to expose to death human embryos obtained in vitro.
The freezing of embryos, even when carried out in order to preserve the life of an embryo—cryptopreservation—constitutes an offence against the respect due to human beings by exposing them to grave risks of death or harm …
Intervention upon human procreation:
“Development of the practice of in vitro fertilization has required innumerable fertilizations and destruction of human embryos….Such deliberate destruction of human beings or their utilization for different purposes…is contrary to the moral law….
The connection between in vitro fertilization and the voluntary destruction of human embryos occurs too often.
Homologous and Heterologous artificial fertilization
Artificial Homologous fertilization: the technique that is used to obtain a human conception using the gametes of the two spouses joined in marriage. This can be carried out by two different methods:
1.Homologus IVF(In vitro fert.) and ET(embryo transfer): the technique used to obtain a human conception through the meeting in vitro of the gametes of the spouses joined in marriage.
2.Homologous artificial insemination: the technique used to obtain a human conception through the transfer of the sperm collected from the husband.
Heterologous insemination: techniques used to obtain a human conception artificially by the use of gametes coming from at least one donor other than the spouses who are joined in marriage. Heterologous artificial IVF and ET: the technique used to obtain a human conception through the meeting in vitro of gametes taken from at least one donor other than the two spouses joined in marriage.
Morality of these Methods
Every human being is always to be accepted as a gift and blessing of God…the unborn child must be the fruit of marriage….The child has the right to be conceived, carried in the womb, brought into the world and brought up within marriage..(p.23)
Does the Heterologous artificial fertilization conform to the dignity of the couple and to the truth of marriage?
“Heterologous artificial fertilization is contrary to the unity of marriage, to the dignity of the spouses and to the child’s right to be conceived and brought into the world in marriage…It violates the reciprocal commitment of the spouses and involves a grave lack in regard to that essential property of marriage which is its unity. It deprives the child of its filial relationship with his parental origins and can hinder the maturing of his personal identity.
Is surrogate motherhood morally licit?
“Surrogate motherhood represents an objective failure to meet the obligations of maternal love, of conjugal fidelity and of responsible motherhood; it offends the dignity and the right of the child to be conceived, carried in the womb, brought up by his own parents…(26)
Is homologous “in vitro “fertilization morally licit?
“Even in a situation in which every precaution were taken to avoid the death of human embryos, homologous IVF and Et dissociates from the conjugal act the actions which are directed to human fertilization.
“Homologous IVF and ET fertilization are not marked by all that ethical negativity found in extra-conjugal procreation.. Nevertheless, the Church remains opposed from the moral point of view to homologous in vitro fertilization. Such fertilization is in itself illicit and in opposition to the dignity of procreation and of the conjugal union, even when everything is done to avoid the death of the human embryo.(31)
Homologous artificial insemination within marriage cannot be admitted except for those cases in which the technical means is not a substitute for the conjugal act but serves to facilitate and to help so that the act attains its natural purpose.(31)
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