The ethics of human cloning

In this engaging book, Leon R. Kass, the noted teacher, scientist, and humanist, and James Q. Wilson, the preeminent political scientist to whom four U.S. presidents have turned for advice on crime, drug abuse, education, and other crises in American life, explore the ethics of human cloning, reproductive technology, and the teleology of human sexuality. Although in their lively dialogue both authors share a fundamental distrust of the notion of human cloning, they base their reticence on different views of the role of sexual reproduction and the role of the family. Professor Kass contends that in vitro fertilization and other assisted reproduction technologies that place the origin of human life in human hands have eroded the respect for the mystery of sexuality and human renewal. Professor Wilson, on the other hand, asserts that whether a human life is created naturally or artificially is immaterial as long as the child is raised by loving parents in a two-parent family and is not harmed by the means of its conception. This accessible volume promises to inform the public policy debate over the permissible conduct of genetic research and the permissible uses of its discoveries.

Human Dignity and the Foundations of Bioethics

Human dignity is an essential issue for all matters concerning bioethics. Every declaration, international convention or legal text and directive, related to interventions on human beings, includes the consideration of human dignity as an attribute to which any human being is entitled. Examples are the Helsinki Declaration, the Belmont Report, the Oviedo Convention and the EU Directive on Clinical Trials and specially the United Nations International Declaration on Human Rights. All these texts refer to the respect and promotion of human dignity in all kinds of medical procedures and treatments. However, there is an increasing trend, on the part of some bioethicists, to argue that the concept of human dignity should be re-examined because in can be considered as an empty box and a useless concept that does not go beyond the respect for autonomy.

It is my contention that human dignity is a fully valid concept that must be promoted. In the era of Biotechnology human dignity must be reinforced in view of the potential interventions that are feasible based on the advancement of the technologies. Scientific knowledge of the life of the human species can provide a sound basis for the foundations of bioethical principles and values. In this lecture I will consider the development of human life through the embryonic and fetal stages as a process in continuity. Human dignity belongs in the filed of values, scientific knowledge can provide an objective ground on which to base proposals for the promotion of human rights.

César Nombela

César Nombela

César Nombela is Professor of Microbiology in the University Complutense (Madrid, Spain) since 1982, where he has promoted a research group in Microbiology, Biotechnology and Genomics. He is permanent President of the Carmen and Severo Ochoa Foundation by appointment of Nobel laureate in his last will. Other outstanding experiences include: President of the Scientific Research Council of Spain (CSIC) (1996-2000); Member of the UNESCO International Bioethics Committee (1998-2004); President of National Committee on Ethics in Science and Technology (2002-2005) and Member of the Bioethics Committee of Spain (2007-).