Niektóre zagrożenia osiągnięć biologii i medycyny dla początku życia człowieka w świetle encykliki Jana Pawła II Evangelium vitae (kryteria początku życia człowieka, koncepcja preembrionu, in vitro i eksperymenty medyczne)

Abstract

In the modern Western world we come across threats to human life that have never appeared before in the history of mankind. Many of them are the result of rapid development of biology and medicine in the twentieth and early twenty-first century, that have not yet been supported by deeper bioethical reflection and an analysis of their long-term psychosocial, demographic and ecological consequences. These threats include: approach to the beginning of human life limited to the biological aspect, undermining the genealogical criterion of human life, hormonal contraception, abortion, in vitro fertilization, experiments on the embryo (diagnostic, therapeutic and non-therapeutic experiments / surgical, pharmacological, genetic experiments), preimplantation genetic diagnosis and prenatal diagnosis (leading to eugenic abortion), the use of human embryos for therapeutic and cosmetic purposes. The paper characterizes these threats, their bioethical context, with reference to the teaching of the Catholic Church, including the Evangelium Vitae encyclical, and their social consequences.