Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2007
Publication Information
7 Nat'l Cath. Bioeth. Q. 53 (2007).
Abstract
As advances in biomedical science and biotechnology continue to confer vast new powers to subdue nature for “the relief of man’s estate,” vexed moral and ethical questions inevitably arise about the use of such capacities. To what ends should they be applied? How might they be abused? Are they safe? What is the human meaning of such new powers? Might their use threaten human dignity? What does scientific freedom demand? What does justice require? Who should have access to the fruits of such scientific advances?
In democratic regimes, these questions do not long remain the subject of mere academic reflection or private rumination. Because we must govern ourselves, such issues are debated in the public square, and are thus transformed into political and, perhaps ultimately, legal matters. As the public square expands beyond national borders, matters of bioethical import increasingly become the focus of intergovernmental deliberations. Indeed, there is a long history of international instruments intended to provide guidance and even establish binding norms for the conduct of scientific research and the practice of medicine. UNESCO’s Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights represents the most recent effort in this vein. As is evident from its title, it is an extraordinarily ambitious document of potentially massive scope. A full and fair appraisal of its content and significance for the international governance of science and medicine according to bioethical principles would require many pages. The scope of this article, however, is far narrower, namely, to evaluate the Declaration’s implications for the principles of human dignity and respect for human life.
To that end, the article will proceed in the following way. Part I provides a brief overview of UNESCO and its role with respect to bioethics. Part II gives a short account of the origins and aspirations of the Declaration. Part III analyzes the process of the elaboration of the Declaration (including the preliminary drafting by a UNESCO committee of experts and the subsequent negotiation among member states). Part IV offers an assessment of the Declaration’s contributions to the causes of human dignity and the respect for human life.
Recommended Citation
O. C. Snead,
Assessing the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights: Implications for Human Dignity and the Respect for Human Life,
7 Nat'l Cath. Bioeth. Q. 53 (2007)..
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/law_faculty_scholarship/1679