Reflexiones éticas a propósito de la clonación
After a brief overview of the scientific data on cloning, the article examines the ethical issues put forth by this particular form of reproduction. A distinction is made between the application of cloning to the animal and vegetable realms and to the human species. The cloning of plants and animals...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | Spanish |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Ed. Pontificia Univ. Gregoriana
1998
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| In: |
Gregorianum
Year: 1998, Volume: 79, Issue: 1, Pages: 129-148 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | After a brief overview of the scientific data on cloning, the article examines the ethical issues put forth by this particular form of reproduction. A distinction is made between the application of cloning to the animal and vegetable realms and to the human species. The cloning of plants and animals is ethically permissible if it guarantees the preservation of species and of genetic diversity within the species. Humankind is not entitled to an absolute and irresponsible dominion — ius utendi et abutendi — over the world. As the Yahwist has taught us, the human person has been placed in the middle of the garden as its guardian and caretaker (Gn 2,15). On the other hand, the prudent use of vegetable and animal cloning can render a great service to humankind both in agriculture and in medicine. When it comes to the application of cloning to the human species, the article introduces a distinction between the «procreation» of human beings through these techniques and the reproduction of human cells for therapeutic uses. The author concludes that the production of human persons through the application of cloning techniques is morally unacceptable. The ethical objections are presented under three major headings: 1) the respect due to the human embryo; 2) the dignity of the human person (the «principle of humanity»); and 3) the authentic meaning of human procreation as a fully human activity. The values at stake in the cloning of human beings are among the most basic values for the moral life: the value of human life itself from its inception, the uniqueness of each human person, the relationships between man and woman, as well as the relationship between parent and child. Society cannot afford to endanger these fundamental values. Our very identity as ethical beings rests upon them. On the other hand, a limited application of cloning to the human species can be acceptable from the moral point of view. The cloning of human cells — not of human persons — for therapeutic uses does not seem to violate any fundamental moral principle, as long as the ethical rules governing experiments with human subjects are dutifully observed. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Gregorianum
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