Language of human dignity in the abortion debate

Title

Language of human dignity in the abortion debate

Files

School/Department

Talbot School of Theology

Description

Human Dignity in Bioethics brings together a collection of essays that rigorously examine the concept of human dignity from its metaphysical foundations to its polemical deployment in bioethical controversies. The volume falls into three parts, beginning with meta-level perspectives and moving to concrete applications.

Part 1 analyzes human dignity through a worldview lens, exploring the source and meaning of human dignity from naturalist, postmodernist, Protestant, and Catholic vantages, respectively, letting each side explain and defend its own conception. Part 2 moves from metaphysical moorings to key areas of macro-level influence: international politics, American law, and biological science. These chapters examine the legitimacy of the concept of dignity in documents by international political bodies, the role of dignity in American jurisprudence, and the implications―and challenges―for dignity posed by Darwinism. Part 3 shifts from macro-level topics to concrete applications by examining the rhetoric of human dignity in specific controversies: embryonic stem cell research, abortion, human-animal chimeras, euthanasia and palliative care, psychotropic drugs, and assisted reproductive technologies. Each chapter analyzes the rhetorical use of ‘human dignity’ by opposing camps, assessing the utility of the concept and whether a different concept or approach can be a more productive means of framing or guiding the debate.

Ch. 11

Keywords

Bioethics; Dignity;

ISBN

978-0415659314

Publication Date

12-3-2012

Publication Source

Human dignity in bioethics : from worldviews to the public square

Inclusive pages

pp. 219-238

Document Type

Book Chapter

Publisher

Routledge

City

New York

Disciplines

Bioethics and Medical Ethics

Comments

doi:10.4324/9780203075005

Language of human dignity in the abortion debate


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