How does your worldview of human value affect your beliefs about bioethical issues, such as abortion, designer babies, and stem cell research?
Initial discussion question posts should be a minimum of 200 words and include at least two references cited using APA format. Responses to peers or faculty should be 100-150 words and include one reference. Refer to the “Discussion Question Rubric” and “Participation Rubric,” located in Class Resources, to understand the expectations for initial discussion question posts and participation posts, respectively.

Solution

Worldview of Human Value and Bioethical Issues

The Sanctity of Life and Abortion

People who value life’s sanctity recognize individual worth right after conception and this perspective guides their thoughts about abortion. People who believe life starts at conception consider abortion to end human life so they face ethical problems about whether procedures are morally permissible. Certain individuals place personal autonomy as their highest value which means they defend a woman’s authority to make decisions about her reproduction. The moral conflict manifests because different beliefs exist regarding when human worth starts during development as well as whether this worth has fixed boundaries or dependent elements (Parker, 2024)

Ethical Considerations in Designer Babies

When parents select DNA sequences for their offspring, they face deep moral questions about how they value human life. Views that base their worldviews on natural human dignity contend genetic selection works against individual worth because it advances eugenic efforts and social inequalities. People who base their understanding of human value on capabilities and wellbeing tend to endorse genetic modifications that stop inherited diseases from occurring. Medical progress exists in a dilemma with ethical impact since it requires determining how to achieve scientific improvement without letting genetic attributes define human value (Jecker, 2024

Moral Implications of Stem Cell Research

Embryonic stem cell research generates multiple ethical concerns about human value because of its impact on the destruction of embryo cells. Teams supporting religion-based worldview oppose embryo research because they believe every stage of human development maintains equivalent moral value starting at the conception stage. Believers in the future medical advantages of stem cell research may support its work on developing cures for chronic diseases. The main disagreement focuses on determining if saving lives through embryonic cell research makes its destructive use acceptable.

A person’s view of human value proves essential in determining how they would handle bioethical dilemmas. These ethical debates persist because achieving equilibrium between personal rights and scientific accomplishment and moral accountability stands as their fundamental issue.

References

Parker, M. J. (2024). Bioethics and the value of disagreement. Journal of Medical Ethics. https://jme.bmj.com/content/medethics/early/2024/08/30/jme-2024-110174.full.pdf

Jecker, N. S., Atuire, C. A., Ravitsky, V., Ghaly, M., Vaswani, V., & Voo, T. C. (2024). Religion Welcome Here: A Pluriversal Approach to Religion and Global Bioethics. Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, 1-14. https://dumka.philosophy.ua/index.php/fd/article/download/747/684

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