BIOMEDICAL

ETHICS
BIOMEDICAL ETHICS
A. PERSONALIST BIOMEDICAL CARE
B. ETHICS OF PRENATAL PERSONHOOD
C. ECTOPIC PREGNANCY AND THE PRINCIPLE OF
DOUBLE EFFECT
D. CHILD-BEARING ENHANCEMENTS, SELF-
IMPROVEMENT AND GENERAL WELL-BEING
E. EXTRAORDINARY MEANS, EUTHANASIA AND
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF A LIVING WILL
 A.PERSONALIST BIOMEDICAL CARE
Personalist Theories
–emerged as a reaction to perceived depersonalization caused by
the advent of science, technology, and totalistic systems in
philosophy
Personalism
-centrality of the human person for philosophical thought
-posits the value of personhood as a center of life, experience,
decisions, and actions
 BIOMEDICAL ETHICS

has a stable grounding if it holds the
-

inviolable, inherent, and intrinsic value of

the person, as well as his/her relational
and communitarian realities
B. ETHICS OF PRENATAL PERSONHOOD
When does human personhood begin?
Human person exists at the point of
fertilization/conception
(B. Castro & O. Tinio of the Philippine Medical
Association)
Grounded on the Philippine constitution, the
protection of life of both the mother and the
unborn child is upheld
ETHICS OF PRENATAL PERSONHOOD
 The fertilized ovum or fetus ought to
be treated as a human person, since it
cannot be proved or disproved as
factual that the human being begins to
exist at the very point of human
conception.
 ECTOPIC PREGNANCY AND THE
PRINCIPLE OF DOUBLE EFFECT
If the fetus is said to be where it should not be in the case
of ectopic pregnancy (outside the womb) and is
threatening the life of the mother, can it be treated as an
unjust aggressor? Given such logic of ‘’self-defense’’
against a ‘’ materially unjust aggressor’’, is
abortion of the fetus acceptable? (James Keenan, 1893 &
Theologian Aloysius Sabbetti 1839-1898)
C. ECTOPIC PREGNANCY AND THE
PRINCIPLE OF DOUBLE EFFECT
It is a matter of faith that it is not allowed to use the category of unjust aggressor,
formal or material in questions involving fetal life. (Catholic ethicists)
Abortion is defined as an intrinsic evil act that is unacceptable in any direct and
intended form as a human action.
The case then of ectopic pregnancy occasions the principle of double effect.
This principle is applied in the case of an action that is seen to have two results:
one is known as good, another simultaneous effect is bad, considered as a mere by-
product of the action since it is not intentionally done for that purpose.
 D. CHILD-BEARING ENHANCEMENTS, SELF-IMPROVEMENT AND GENERAL WELL-
BEING

Child-bearing enhancements
I.

Human Genome Project –promised personally designed

drugs that can better improve one’s health or recovery
from sickness
Cost of child-bearing techniques is exorbitantly high=
can support 2 or 3 orphaned children in their rearing to
adulthood
D. CHILD-BEARING ENHANCEMENTS, SELF-
IMPROVEMENT AND GENERAL WELL-BEING
I. Child-bearing enhancements
Present techniques of child-conceiving enhancements
involve the harvesting of egg cells from the mother.
Since it is impossible or costly to store these without
fertilizing them, what are frozen in hospitals/clinics that give
such services are human embryos or fetuses that are awaiting
womb implantation.
The 100% success of a single implantation is not yet reached
so a number of fertilized eggs or embryos are frozen as
“spares”
D. CHILD-BEARING ENHANCEMENTS, SELF-
IMPROVEMENT AND GENERAL WELL-BEING
 What happens to the spares?
 The absence of laws defining “spares”as deserving of treatment as
human persons simply means that the spares are not out of reach of
unconscientious therapists
Local doctors engage in stem cell therapy
 Embryos in the first 14 days are known for their totipotency
(multipotency), that is, germane in the spares are the cells that make up
every organ in the human body including the gray matter that is
important for the brain.
 Danger is the temptation to use those “spares” to address debilitating
D. CHILD-BEARING ENHANCEMENTS, SELF-
IMPROVEMENT AND GENERAL WELL-BEING
II. Self-improvement and general well-being
–intake of glutathione for aesthetic improvements
–intake of products to improve the well-being or intelligence of children;
 other products or techniques including surgery that sell self-enhancements
should be countered or balanced with an appeal to personal growth that is not
only physical.
 Bodily aesthetic or self-actualization directions ought to be inclusive of interior
values such as kindness, solidarity, and compassion.
 EXTRAORDINARY MEANS,
EUTHANASIA AND THE SIGNIFICANCE
OF A LIVING WILL
 Euthanasia or mercy killing
-is the direct murder of another human being and is thus
unacceptable at this point in the Philippines
 Termination of “Extraordinary means” (example- respirator)
simply allow the process of dying to take its course and the
person is simply allowed to go through the process of a
dignified death.
 EXTRAORDINARY MEANS, EUTHANASIA
AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF A LIVING WILL
DNR (do not resuscitate) cards
-it is the rescinding of a CPR (cardio-
pulmonary resuscitation) or other means of
resuscitations in the event of a fatal crash of the
patient.
DNR allows for dignified death
EXTRAORDINARY MEANS, EUTHANASIA
AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF A LIVING WILL
Writing of a living will is relevant to give guidance
to loved ones in the remote possibility that an
accident or sickness renders someone “brain dead”,
comatose, or in a persistent vegetative state.
 Is the person open to organ donation and to what
extent of organ harvesting for the life of other
persons is permissible?
 Being the very end of life for the human
person, death is included in the very
reality of personhood that dignity ought
to be maintained until then.