Book Review - The ethics of abortion: Women's rights
- Article Information
- Category: Bioethics at the Beginning of Life
- Created on Tuesday, 22 November 2011 22:23
- Last updated on Wednesday, 30 November -0001 00:00
- Published on Tuesday, 22 November 2011 22:23
- Written by Patch
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John Flynn LC provides a broad overview of the key arguments offered by Christopher Kaczor in his book, The ethics of abortion: Women's rights, human life and the question of justice. While religion provides cogent arguments against abortion, the case as to why it is ethically unjustifiable can also be made on philosophical grounds.
Confronting the Distortions: Mothers of Children with Down Syndrome and Prenatal Testing
- Article Information
- Category: Bioethics at the Beginning of Life
- Created on Monday, 21 November 2011 21:58
- Last updated on Wednesday, 30 November -0001 00:00
- Published on Monday, 21 November 2011 21:58
- Written by Patch
- Hits: 208
Dr Lisa Bridle
Prenatal diagnosis represents the most immediate and widespread application of the current explosion of genetic knowledge and technology. Presently hundreds of genetic conditions can be identified through prenatal diagnosis, although testing commonly focuses on chromosomal analysis and testing for neural tube defects (Wertz 1992:162). The major diagnostic tests are diagnostic ultrasound, amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling (CVS). In recent years, there has been a drive to confirm test results earlier in pregnancy both by performing these tests earlier and by developing faster methods of chromosome analysis. The development of screening tests, including first trimester ultrasound and maternal serum screening tests, has already reshaped the landscape of prenatal diagnosis. Prenatal testing, once limited to women considered "high risk", is increasingly a routine part of all pregnant women's antenatal care.
Editorial: Anniversaries
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- Category: Bioethics at the Beginning of Life
- Created on Monday, 21 November 2011 09:53
- Last updated on Wednesday, 30 November -0001 00:00
- Published on Monday, 21 November 2011 09:53
- Written by Patch
- Hits: 158
Michael McCabe
"If charmed by their beauty...let them know how much the Lord of these excels them, since the very Author of beauty has created them. And if they have been impressed by their power and energy, let them deduce from these how much mightier is God who has formed them, since through the grandeur and beauty of the creatures we may, by analogy, contemplate their Author."
--The Book of Wisdom 13: 3-5
The very language we use when talking about celebrating anniversaries provides us with the best clue as to their precise nature. We talk about "remembering" or "recollecting" significant past events. The etymology of these words reminds us that there is much more at stake than simple nostalgia or the desire to recall either joyful or painful emotions. To "re-member" is to put back together. To "re-collect" is to bring together all the parts, to reform and recreate the whole. That is why each year, on a birthday, or wedding anniversary, for example, we take the time to remember both the enthusiastic beginning of a journey as well as the moments of insight that give meaning to any joy, sacrifice, or sorrow along the way.
Editorial: Abortion, Technology and Truth
- Article Information
- Category: Bioethics at the Beginning of Life
- Created on Monday, 21 November 2011 11:13
- Last updated on Wednesday, 30 November -0001 00:00
- Published on Monday, 21 November 2011 11:13
- Written by Patch
- Hits: 235
Michael McCabe
The television documentary, "My Foetus" was shown to New Zealand audiences in September this year. "My Foetus" presented viewers with amazing images of a child before birth, which revealed just how like a newborn baby a foetus is, not just in appearance, but in behaviour.
Richard Stith on the moral status of the human embryo and fetus
- Article Information
- Category: Bioethics at the Beginning of Life
- Created on Tuesday, 22 November 2011 22:31
- Last updated on Wednesday, 30 November -0001 00:00
- Published on Tuesday, 22 November 2011 22:31
- Written by Patch
- Hits: 203
Finally, in a very readable article, Richard Stith provides a philosophical framework for making sense of the different understandings people have regarding the moral status of the human embryo/fetus. The widespread vision of the embryo and fetus as "under construction" is the key to understanding why good people may find pro-life arguments to be non-rational or absurd. The construction versus development approach may also help to clarify mutual misunderstandings regarding the moral acceptability of euthanasia.