ЉУДСКО ДОСТОЈАНСТВО И НОВЕ ГЕНЕТСКЕ ТЕХНОЛОГИЈЕ (ИЗАЗОВИ И МОГУЋНОСТИ ПРАВНЕ ЗАШТИТЕ)
HUMAN DIGNITY AND NEW GENETIC TECHNOLOGIES: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF LEGAL PROTECTION

Summary/Abstract: Accelerated advances in genetic research constantly generate new ethical dilemmas. Dworkin described the extent of ethical controversy arising from genetic technologies. Dworkin designates their application as “a moral free fall” (Dworkin, 2002: 448), while Singer specifies the significance and possible consequences of “the reproductive revolution”, a significant segment of which is the use of genetic engineering, and compares them to “the revolution in physics which produced an atomic bomb” (Singer, 1958: 588). The application of genetic interventions opens up opportunities not only for the prevention and treatment of serious illnesses but also for the selection and improvement of human characteristics, not only the characteristics of already born individuals but also the characteristics of unborn children and future generations, i.e. human species as a whole. Although some authors consider that law is insubstantial when confronted with the challenges of the biotechnological revolution, there is an increasing need to create an appropriate legal framework for the application of genetic interventions on human beings. Therefore, more and more efforts are made at the international and the national level to define the principles and rules governing the use of new genetic technologies. Imposing legal restrictions on the application of genetic engineering is often justified by the value of human dignity. As the content of this term is subject to different interpretations, in the field of bioethics it is declared to be “useless” (Macklin, 2003: 1420). In the first part of the paper, the author draws attention to the basic ethical dilemmas underlying the application of new genetic technologies, with emphasis on the role of human dignity in these ethical debates. After that, the analysis focuses on the provisions of relevant international documents relating to the application of genetic technologies, with specific reference to the so- called “limiting” dimension of human dignity, as the ethical basis underlying the adopted principles. The paper also examines the legal treatment of new genetic technologies within the national legislations of different countries. Finally, the author analyzes the existing normative solutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, i.e. its entities: Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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