Bioethics & Biotechnology PDF

 

With each passing year, we face new and increasingly complex challenges to the sanctity of human life. New biotechnology is advancing far faster than our society's ethical and legal constraints ensuring its moral use. When Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World in 1932, human cloning was just science fiction. Today, human cloning is a reality.

 

The urge to push technology to its limits is powerful and, all too often, invites moral breaches and ethical compromise. The scandal involving South Korean Professor Hwang Yoon-Young's fraudulent claims that his research team had produced stem cells from cloned embryos is the most notable example of society's push to exploit technological advances while ignoring competing moral and ethical concerns. Many scientists and politicians continue to seek unfettered freedom (and your tax dollars) for immoral uses of biotechnology in the hope of miracle cures. If we do not act with greater urgency, the abuse of nascent human life will become more entrenched and far more difficult to regulate. Powerful ethical and legal limits are needed to preserve and protect the sanctity of all human life.

 

In our Bioethics & Biotechnology resources, we have focused on providing accurate and up-to-date information on advances in biotechnology, including cloning, stem cell research, assisted reproductive technologies, in vitro fertilization, and uses of genetic testing. We have also provided AUL's model legislation to ban all forms of human cloning, to ban destructive embryo research, to regulate assisted reproductive technologies (ART), and to encourage embryo adoption.

 

Moreover, we hope to spark thoughtful and responsible discussion and debate on the potential regulation of ART, including in vitro fertilization (IVF). In his article, "Preserving Human Dignity: Regulation of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) "PDF, Clarke Forsythe, AUL's President, argues in favor of informed consent for IVF and limitations on the number of embryos that may be implanted during any IVF cycle. Clearly, it is critical that we provide meaningful oversight and regulation of IVF technologies since the so-called "left over" embryos languishing in IVF clinics around the nation are at the heart of ongoing debates over embryonic stem-cell research and human cloning.