Moral status of the embryo

Question 1

Abortion act 1967

Answer 1

Law allows provision of medical professionals to conscientiously object to providing service- duty to refer
- They recognise that an embryo has the same moral significance as a grown human.

Question 2

Human fertilisation and embryology act 1990

Answer 2

Regulates human embryo creation and research revolving them.
- Medical professionals can have conscientious objections as long as they can morally articulate their reasons for opting out.

Question 3

Warnock committee

Answer 3

Committee of inquiry into human fertility and embryology

Warnock report explored issues in embryology.

• Surrogacy
• Research
• Ethical status of reproductive technologies
• Donating, freezing and use of eggs
• Recommended 14 day limit [due to twinning not being able to occur past that point]

Question 4

Utilitarian moral status

Answer 4

Having moral status takes into account the interests of the person/ thing and must be factored into outcomes.

Question 5

Non-utilitarian moral status

Answer 5

Having moral status does not depend on the consequences inflicted on others.

Question 6

Warnock and moral status

Answer 6

Concluded that there is no particular point in the biological developmental process where moral significance increases.
Each stage is required for the next to progress.

Question 7

14 day limit of embryo

Answer 7

Formation of primitive streak occurs at day 14-15.
- At this point, the embryo can only be a definitive person.
Before it has the ability to twin.

Question 8

Rejecting gradualism

Answer 8

Biological humanity:

Pope Benedict XVI
- Rejects that life is a continuum

Embryo has the same moral status as a grown adult as soon as fertilisation occurs.

Problems:

• Moment of conception difficult to measure
• Human DNA does not quality as a person [i.e cells in our body]
• Twinning argument?

Question 9

Personhood

Answer 9

Argues against biological humanity
- Takes into account sentience

Moral significance on

• Rationality
• Moral agency
• Language

Problem:
- Excludes large groups of people: severe cognitive disabilities, infants

Question 10

Interests and moral significance

Answer 10

Argues that an interests of a person morally qualifies them as a person.

Embryo
- Cannot be sentient so cannot take or have interest

Question 11

Future like ours view

Answer 11

Argues that interest view is not sufficient

• Cannot say someone in a temporary coma cannot take interest in things
• Embryos cannot take interest but they have an interest in living out its future.

However

• Can apply to egg and sperm
• You do not always have a conscious interest in certain things