BIH523: Bioethics and the Beginning of Life

The module Bioethics and the Beginning of Life in the Bioethics concentration is an elective module. The aim of this module is to introduce students to the problematic surrounding reproduction - that is, to the ways in which humans can and should reproduce. It examines the ethical dimension of the choices and practices relating to the entire reproductive process, from the suitability of prospective parents, the modes of conception (e.g. in vitro fertilisation), prenatal testing, genetic improvement of embryos, the cryopreservation of ova, embryos and ovarian tissue, surrogacy, up to delivery methods and the termination of pregnancy. In this context, the opposing philosophical positions on questions such as the following are explored: 'Is surrogacy ethically permissible and if so, what restrictions apply?', 'Are there criteria for assessing the suitability of people who wish to become parents?', 'Does one have obligations towards an embryo, even though one tried to prevent its conception?', 'Why does the prenatal testing process create tensions between healthcare providers and communities of persons with disabilities?', 'Should women who are about to undergo gender reassignment be allowed to freeze their ova?', 'Should the views of a man and a woman carry equal weight in the decision to terminate or continue a pregnancy?', among others. Discussion of the above questions evidently presupposes and also tests central concepts of ethics and the respective theoretical frameworks within which they are embedded. In this way, without altering the strongly practical orientation of the module, the concepts of the autonomy of prospective parents in relation to the rights of the embryo (future or actual), the consequentialist line of response, and the virtue ethics approach, which frames all the preceding issues in terms of virtues and vices, are all examined.