The Prenatal Person: Ethics from Conception to Birth

A host of ethical questions has arisen recently in response to the development of new reproductive technologies. This text helps students of theology, philosophy, and health studies, as well as lay readers, to find answers to these questions.

In order to facilitate an informed discussion of the many delicate ethical issues, the book first provides readers with relevant medical and scientific information. It explains in a clear and simple way, for example, what is involved in human embryo and embryonic cell stem research, infertility and its treatments, and prenatal screening and diagnosis. It also explains how the metaphysical framework, in which both Christian and secular philosophers think, relates to the scientific facts and affects the ways in which they solve ethical problems.

Throughout, the author takes a balanced approach, acknowledging his loyalty to Catholicism, yet freely exploring new options indicated by advancing biological science.

Preface.

Acknow;edgments.

Part I: Foundations.

1. Morality for persons.

Utilitarianism.

Contemporary Concept of Person.

Traditional Concept of Person.

Survival of Traditional Morality.

2. Life, Health, Ethics and The Bible.

Biblical Interpretations and Bioethics.

Life, Health, Sickness and Death: Old Testament.

Life and Healing: New Testament.

Lilfe After Death in the Bible.

Relevance of the Bible for Health Ethics.

3. Ethical Principles for Health Care.

Christian Vision of Human Dignity.

Respect for Human Life.

Duty of Reasonable Care of Health and Life.

Doing Good and Permitting Harm.

Responsibilities of Healthcare Professionals.

Christian and Secular Ethicists in a Democracy.

Part II: Ethical Issues.

4. Human Embryo.

Beginning of the Embryo.

Research and Clinical Use of Embryos.

Respect for the Embryo.

Ethical Evaluation of the Use of Embryos in Research and Clinical Practice.

5. The Pregnant Woman and Her Fetus.

Support for Pregnant Women.

Embryonic and Fetal Mortality and Morbidity.

Induced Abortion.

Long–term Sequelae of Abortion.

Fetus with Anencephaly.

Ethical Evaluation of Issues During Pregnancy.

6. Infertility and Artificial Reproductive Technology.

Infertility.

Assisted Reproductive Technology and Ethics.

7. Prenatal Screening and Diagnosis.

Prevalence of Fetal Congenital Malformations.

Pregnant Women's Anxieties.

Current Procedures.

Therapeutic Benefits.

Ethical Evaluation of Prenatal Screening and Diagnosis.

8. The Fetus.

Fetal Therapies.

Use of Fetal Tissue.

Fetal Pain.

Care of the Fetus and Ethics.

9. Newborns.

Breastfeeding.

Perinatal Mortality.

Low Birthweight Babies.

Delivery for HIV Infected Pregnant Women.

Noenatal Transplants.

Ethical Issues in the Treatment of Newborns.

Notes.

Select Bibliography.

Glossary.

Index.

Norman M. Ford SDB is a Catholic priest, philosopher, and theologian at the ecumenical Melbourne College of Divinity. He is also the Director of the Caroline Chisholm Centre for Health Ethics. He is the author of When Did I Begin?: Conception of the Human Individual in History, Philosophy and Science (1988), as well as numerous articles on bioethics and human reproduction.

" The Prenatal Person is a welcome contribution to dialogue between adherents of Christian and secular approaches to controversial bioethical issues about the beginning of human life. It is refreshing to find a Catholic scholar addressing these issues in a way that does not rely heavily on religious teachings that only a Catholic could be expected to accept. This is a book I will recommend to my students, so that they can consider a reasoned approach that is very different to my own." Peter Singer, Princeton University

"...there are many useful insights and The Prenatal Person is helped by attention to detail in medical matters." The Tablet