Konfliktfelder der Pränatalmedizin
Ausgabe: 4/2005
51. Jahrgang
Menschenwürde und In-vitro-Fertilisation. Zur Problematik der Zertifizierung der Zeugung
The paper first discusses human dignity and the obligations of respect and restraint which result from it, arguing that articles 1 3 of the Basic Law are well constructed and Dürigs phrase that human dignity prohibits turning any human being »into an object, a mere means, a negotiable quantity« still holds true today. At once the paper considers various critical arguments all designed to deny the nasciturus human dignity. The second part looks at the immanent problems of assisted reproduction, which suggest that IVF treatment is incompatible with human dignity. This is most clearly the case where the »successful« implantation of several embryos leads to feticide or cryoconservation to the question of what to do with »spare« embryos. Hence IVF often poses a dilemma for parents: it demands the paradoxical decision to want the life of one child and the death of its siblings at the same time. Even if the problems mentioned (feticide, multiple pregnancies, and supernumerary embryos) can be overcome there would still be reasons to doubt that IVF and the guarantee of human dignity are compatible. These reasons are discussed from the perspective of the parents and the children in the third section of the paper.
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