SPÓR O STATUS LUDZKIEGO EMBRIONU W KONTEKŚCIE ROZWAŻAŃ NA TEMAT IN VITRO
THE DISPUTE OVER THE STATUS OF THE HUMAN EMBRYO IN THE CONTEXT OF CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT IN VITRO

Summary/Abstract: The article identifies the main controversies, related to the concept of the embryo. They involve the clash of two bioethical concepts: the sanctity of life and the new ethics of quality of life. Biotechnological advances in the field of medicine create a variety of possibilities for doctors to intervene already in the initial, embryonic stage of human life. This creates many moral-legal dilemmas, becoming the subject of disagreement in doctrinal discussions. From the perspective of the article, it was important to define the essence of humanity, including the concept of “human embryo” – taking into account the dominant approaches: liberal (secular) and religious (Christian). Thus, it turned out to be crucial to answer the question: who is a human being and from which moment does the human person begin? Is the embryo a subject or object of law? The ways in which the term “person” is defined in various international legal acts, jurisprudence and literature were cited. The main theories of the status of the human embryo were discussed: the conception on the grounds of which the embryo is treated as a thing, the conception granting the embryo the status of a person, and the intermediate conception, the so-called “dignity” conception. Various legal models for the protection of human life were presented The subject of consideration also became the issues of abortion, in vitro fertilization, implied by the legal model adopted in a given state for the protection of life in its initial (prenatal) stage.

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