HUMANITIESANDBIOETHICS LAMSON,TAN,andMARIANO

Care at the Beginning of Life

NATURALREPRODUCTION 5. Fertilizationoftheeggs
Throughnaturalsexualreproduction Theaspiratedeggsarefertilizedwiththespermcellsinthe
Onlymoralsettingforthegenerationofchildren laboratory
Female 6. Eggtransfer(transfer)
Ovariesproducematureeggevery28dayswhichtravel Thefertilizedegg/eggsaretransferredtothewoman'suterus
throughthefallopiantube fornormalgrowth
Male
Testesproducespermswhichareexpelledduringsexual 2. STEWARDSHIP&CREATIVITY
activity ManhasdominionoverGod'screaturesandenvironment
Spermstraveluptheuterusintothefallopiantubetofertilizethe Manmusttakecareandcultivatecreatures
egg
Inhealth
Conceptustravelsdowntheuteruswhereitisimplanted
Caringandnotdestroyingman'sbody
Embryodevelopsandgrows
Violatedin:
After9months,babyisborn Useofhormones
Surgicalsterility
WHENDOESLIFEBEGIN? IUD
Donationofspermsoreggs
Fertilization Surrogatemotherhood

ETHICALPRINCIPLES 3. TOTALITY
1. Inviolabilityoflife Partsaresubordinatetowhole
2. Stewardship&Creativity Partsexistforthewholeandhasnointrinsicvalueoutsidethe
3. Totality whole
4. DoubleEffects Thegoodofthepartissubordinateandcanbesacrificedforthe
5. Solidarity goodofthewhole
6. Nonmaleficence Conditionsforapplyingthisprincipletojustifyremovalofabody
7. Beneficence part:
8. Justice Therelationshipispartintegraltowhole
9. RespectforPerson Thedangercausedbymaintainingthepartcannotbeaverted
10. PersonalizedSexuality inanyotherway
11. LegitimateCooperation Itsremovalcannotdestroythewhole

1. INVIOLABILITYOFLIFE 4. DOUBLEEFFECT
Whenanacthasbothgoodandbadeffects
Allhumanlifefromconceptionthroughallsubsequentstages,is
sacred Permissiblewhen:
Allhaveadutytoaffirm,respect,loveanddefendit Thedirectfreelychoseneffectismorallygoodandtheindirect
foreseenbutnotdesiredeffectmaybeharmful
Noonecanviolateordestroylife
Theaction/objectmustnotbeevil(endcannotjustifymeans)
Violatedin:
Theforeseenbeneficialeffectmustbegreaterorequaltothe
Abortion
foreseenevileffect(proportionality)
IVF
Thebeneficialeffectmustfollowdirectlyfromtheactionorat
Embryonicstemcellprocedure
leastatimmediatelyastheharmfuleffect(endcannotjustify

means)
IVFSTEPBYSTEP
Aforeseenevileffectmaybeallowediftheforeseenintended
1. Hormonestimulation
goodeffectisgreaterthananddoesnotresultfromevileffect
Thewomanwhogetsahormonestimulationtoregulatethe
Example:Maternalfetalconflicts,removalofdiseasedorgans
eggproductionandtheeggmaturation

2. Ultrasoundscanofthefollicles
Therighttimeforeggremovalisdetermined 5. NONMALEFICENCE
3. Eggaspiration(aspiration) Donoharm
Theeggsareaspiratedfromtheovaries Risknoharm
Aspirationisperformedwithathinneedlethroughthevaginal Examples:
wall Toavoidprovidingincompetenthealthcare
Thedoctorwilladministeralocalanestheticinthevaginalwall Nottoperformprocedureswhichwilldestroytheintegrityofa
4. Spermcellsample person'sbody
Themanhandsinaspermcellsampleonthedayoftheegg Violatedin:
aspiration Breachingofconfidentialityofdonors
Sterilization

 HUMANITIESANDBIOETHICS LAMSON,TAN,andMARIANO

6. BENEFICENCE Healthcareprovider,especiallythoseintraining,maybeexpected
Dogood toperformpracticesthatdonotconformtotheirethicalprinciples
Provideabenefit Theymustrememberthattheircooperationshouldbematerial,
Example: mediateandasremoteaspossible
Facilitatingpregnancy
Educationonresponsibleparenthood OBSTETRICPRACTICESWITHETHICALISSUES
Conditionsthatrequireonetoperformabeneficentact: 1. AssistedreproductionIVFET
Thepersonaidedisatsignificantrisk 2. Cloning
Theactionisneededandlikelytosucceed 3. Humanembryonicstemcells
Thereisnosignificantriskforthedoer 4. Pregnancyprevention(Contraception)
Thebenefitfortherecipientoutweighstheharmtothedoer 5. GeneticTesting/Manipulation
6. Maternalfetalconflict
7. JUSTICE 7. Embryoresearchandexperimentation
Givingonewhatishisdue
Includesthetruth,patient'srightsandequitabledistributionof 1. INVITROFERTILIZATIONANDEMBRYO
healthbenefitsandburdens
TRANSFER
Violatedwhen: Gametesareseparatelyharvested
Thereisnoadequatechildandmaternalhealthcare
NumberofeggsarefertilizedinaPetridish
Newtechnologiesareunaffordable
Zygotesareimplantedintothemotherandunwantedembryos

mayberemoved
8. RESPECTFORPERSON VIOLATESTHEFOLLOWING:
Apersonhasinherentdignitywhichmustberespected INVIOLABILITYOFLIFE
Nottobedenaturedordestroyed,asinsterilization o Unwantedzygotesareallowedtodie
Tobeanendandnotameanstoanend STEWARDSHIP
Todecideone'sowndestinyandhowtopursueit o Theprocedureisartificialandsubstitutestheconjugalact
NONMALEFICENCE
9. PERSONALIZEDSEXUALITY o Thebabymaydevelopthe"genealogicalbewilderment
syndrome"
Conjugalactisinseparableandintegraltothedimensionof o Possibilityofincestorinheriteddiseases
procreation o Psychologicalharmbyrepeatedfailedattempts
Violatedin: JUSTICE
Contraception o Ifprivatefundsareused,theprohibitedcostlimits
IVF availabilitytotherich
o Ifpublicfundsareused,moreessentialneedsmaybe
10. SOLIDARITY abandoned
RESPECTFORPERSON
Tobeonewithothers o Thehumanbody,sperm,eggs,uterusbecomecommodities
Tohelpothersmeettheirneeds trafficked,transferredorsold
Advocatingforahealthcarepolicythatprovidesappropriatechild o Thebabybecomesproductofother'swillinsteadofbeinga
andmaternalcare gift,tobedisposedofasdesired(unusedembryos)
PERSONALIZEDSEXUALITY
11. LEGITIMATECOOPERATION o Thereisseparationofunitiveandprocreativeaspectofthe
Participationofasecondaryagent(cooperator)withaprimary conjugalact
agent(wrongdoer)intheperformanceofanevilaction/effect
Classifiedaccordingto: 2. CLONING
1. Intentionofthecooperator: Productionofageneticcopyofanotherhumanbeingthrough:
a. Formalwhenonewillinglyintendstheevileffect(agrees, "Splitting"oftheembryo'scellaimedatprovidinghuman
advices,counsels,promotes) embryonicstemcellstotreatdiseaserequiresdestructionofthe
b. Materialwhenonedoesnotwillinglyintendtheevileffect embryo(therapeuticcloning)
orparticipateintheaction Somaticcellnucleartransferremovalofnucleusfroman
2. Actionofcooperator: unfertilizedfemaleegganditsreplacementbythenucleusofacell
a. Immediateifitisinherentlyboundtotheperformanceof takenfromadonor(therapeuticorreproductivecloning)
theevilaction VIOLATESTHEFOLLOWING:
b. Mediateifdistinguishablefromtheperformanceofthe INVIOLABILITYOFLIFE
evilaction o Embryosaredestroyed
3. Distanceofcooperatorfromtheact: STEWARDSHIP
a. Proximate,ifclose o Processisartificial
b. Remote,ifdistant NONMALEFICENCE
o Psychologicalandphysicalriskstomotherandchild
JUSTICE
o Onlytherichcanaffordit

 HUMANITIESANDBIOETHICS LAMSON,TAN,andMARIANO

RESPECTFORPERSON GENETICMANIPULATION
o Denaturedbystockbreedingwithnouniquenessand Alteringhumangeneticheritage
individuality Ethicalif:
Aimedtocureillnessorimprovefuturequalityoflife
3. PREGNANCYPREVENTION Respecttheembryo'slifeandintegrity
Spacingpregnancycanbejustifiableforreasonsofhealthand Donotinvolvedisproportionaterisks
economics Forselectionofsex
Thereisnoobligationtotrytohavechildrenandcouplesmay Toselectpredeterminedqualities(color,height)
delaypregnancyinamannerthatconformstoGod'sdesign
7. MATERNALFETALCONFLICTS
PrincipleofDoubleEffectisappliedtoissuewheresavinga
4. ARTIFICIALCONTRACEPTION
mother'slifemayharmthefetusorviceversa
Anyactionwhichpreventsthecreationofnewlife
Example:Removalofpregnantcancerousuterusnonviablefetus
Mannerbywhichthiscanbedone:

Inanticipationoftheconjugalact
Initsaccomplishments PRINCIPLEOFDOUBLEEFFECT
Inthedevelopmentofitsnaturalconsequences 1. Thedirectfreelychoseneffectmustbesavingthemother'slifeand
Violatesthefollowing: indirectforeseenbutnotdesiredeffectisallowingthefetustodie
INVIOLABILITYOFLIFE 2. Theaction/objectmustnotbeevilremovingthediseaseduterus
o Drugsanddevicesthatinhibitfertilizedovumtransportto 3. Savingthemother'slifeisatleastequaltolosingthechild'slife
andimplantationintheuterusoritsdevelopmentare 4. Savingthemother'slifefollowsfromtheremovalofthediseased
abortifacient uterusandnotthekillingofthechild
STEWARDSHIP
o Theypromoteahedonisticmentality 8. EMBRYORESEARCH
o Womentreatedassexualobject Ifintendedtobenefittheembryoitmaybeperformedprovided:
o Damagetonormalorgans Properconsent
NONMALEFICENCE Certaintythatitwillnotharmtheembryo'slifeorintegrity
o Tuballigationandvasectomypreventsahealthyfunction Nontherapeuticresearchisunethical
o Hormonesadverselyaffecttheliver,heart,blood,BP,will
causeheadache
o IUDpromoteinfection;barriersmaycauseallergyor CONCLUSION
irritation RESPONSIBILITYOFHEALTHCAREWORKERS:
RESPECTFORPERSON Mustrecognizehumanfallibilityandarrogance
o Tohaveonespouseusetheotherspouseasameansto Ethicalprinciplesguideconsciencetochoosetherightaction
one'ssatisfactionorpleasureisasignofdisrespect Makeavailabletoalltherequiredinformationforresponsible
PERSONALIZEDSEXUALITY behavior,respectfulofthespecialdignityofhumansexuality
o Separationofunitiveandprocreativeaspectoftheconjugal
act
o Leadstoanincreaseincollapseofmarriageandfamily Matthew 18:8
If your hand or your foot makes you lose your faith cut it off and throw it
away! It is better for you to enter life without a hand or a foot than to keep
5. NATURALFAMILYPLANNING both hands and both feet and be thrown into the eternal fire
Aformofresponsibleparenthoodbecauseitrequiresmasteryof
reasonandwilloverinstinctandpassion
Spouseabstainfromsexduringwoman'sfertileperiod
Nodisruptionbetweenunitiveandprocreativeaspectofthe
maritalact

6. GENETICTESTING
Genetictesting(prenataldiagnosis)licitif:
Motiveistoidentifydiseasesinordertocorrectadefector
preparetheparents TEAM
Withinformedconsentoftheparents PATOK!
Methodsusedrespectthelifeandintegrityofembryoand
motherwithoutsubjectingthemtodisproportionaterisks
Genetictesting(prenataldiagnosis)
Immoralifdoneinordertoabortadefectivechild(killingor
genocide)

To God be the Glory and Honor ---