Bioethical and Moral Perspectives in Human Reproductive Medicine

Abstract

A reductive reading of Humanae vitae seeks to limit its appeal to a ban on contraception. In truth, however, it offers a vision of human sexuality and conjugal love with broad and enduring relevance. In setting forth the intrinsic complementarity and irreducibility of the unitive and procreative dimensions of the conjugal act, Paul VI has given us a hermeneutical key for assessing many contemporary ethical dilemmas in human reproductive medicine. From this perspective, this article seeks to apply the logic of Humanae vitae to several real-life scenarios confronted by medical practitioners, educators, and ethicists working in the field of fertility and reproductive health. These include a consideration of the ethics of prescribing hormonal contraceptives, the possibilities of investigating male infertility, issues of cooperation in counseling and assisting conception in samesex relationships, the ethics pertaining to assisted reproductive technology (ART), the contested case of prenatal adoption, and the application of double-effect reasoning. Summary: On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the promulgation of Pope Paul VI's encyclical Humanae vitae, this article seeks to defend its enduring relevance to modern-day society, through application of its reasoning to contemporary dilemmas in reproductive medicine. It considers real cases of the ethics of prescribing hormonal contraceptives, of investigating male infertility, of cooperating in counseling and assisting conception in same-sex relationships, of ART, of prenatal adoption, and the application of double-effect reasoning.

Sex and Pregnancy

“…Intriguingly, the most controversial encyclical letter of modern times, the Humanae Vitae by Pope Paul VI [36], has been called "prophetic" in light of its prediction of contraception as a tool for dismantling human sexuality, breaking of relationships, lowering of sexual standards, and increasing infidelity [37,38].…”

ART Innovations: Fostering Women’s Psychophysical Health between Bioethics Precepts and Human Rights

“…[49]. Still, those broad-ranging assertions need to be constantly contextualized, if they are to retain their effectiveness: scientific technologies and advancements are bound to broaden the horizons of reproductive technologies, among many other areas of research, hence the broader notion of health, well-being and selffulfillment, which some believe includes the full exercise of reproductive rights that are constantly evolving [50]. The medical community, legislators and policy-makers need to take stock as to where we are headed, since there is no denying that such practices are bound to further evolve and in the not-so-distant future, and the biological paradigm underlying current gender categories could be further upset as reproductive functions are carried out through increasingly artificial means, such as ectogenesis [51].…”