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What we may do with preembryos: a response to Richard A. McCormick
Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal
|December 1, 1991
Summary
If preembryos are not considered persons, then actions like discarding, freezing, research, and genetic analysis should be permissible. This perspective challenges traditional views on early human development and reproductive ethics.
Area of Science:
- Bioethics
- Developmental Biology
- Reproductive Medicine
Background:
- The moral status of preembryos is a contentious issue in bioethics.
- Professor Richard A. McCormick's arguments challenge the classification of preembryos as persons.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the ethical implications of defining preembryos as non-persons.
- To determine which actions involving preembryos could be ethically permitted under this definition.
Main Methods:
- Philosophical argumentation based on McCormick's premise.
- Ethical analysis of actions concerning preembryos.
Main Results:
- If preembryos are not persons, then actions such as discarding, freezing, research, and preimplantation genetic analysis may be ethically permissible.
- This viewpoint necessitates a re-evaluation of policies and practices regarding early human biological materials.
Conclusions:
- The definition of personhood significantly impacts ethical permissibility of actions involving preembryos.
- Adopting a non-personhood status for preembryos opens avenues for reproductive technologies and research.
