Some philosophers and theologians have argued against the idea of Human Enhancement, saying that human beings should not play God. A closer look, however, might reveal that the question of who is playing Whom is far from being so clear-cut. This chapter will address the idea of human enhancement from the standpoint of theistic theology, arguing that human enhancement and theistic theology may not be so very incompatible, after all.

Contemporary medicine offers more and more possibilities as far as procreation is concerned. They are available, first of all, to infertile couples (IVF – In Vitro Fertilization). However, the advanced reproductive technology is also used by people who are biologically capable of having children. These people are ready to resign voluntarily from pregnancy and childbirth difficulties. The surrogate motherhood appears as a phenomenon known already from biblical times but existing nowadays in a different context. At the same time, some issues (...) are emerging – questions concerning social, ethical, moral and legal consequences. This paper presents the issue of surrogate motherhood in the context of social changes, which could lead to a development of such practices as well as the reasons of parents and surrogate mothers. Can this phenomenon be perceived as a service for people who want to fulfill their desires for having children? Would surrogate motherhood become a socially approved practice? What are the ethical, religious and legal norms concerning this phenomenon? The religious norms are connected, first of all, with an attitude of the Catholic Church which recognizes surrogacy as unacceptable and states that “it offends the dignity and the right of a child to be conceived, carried in the womb, delivered to the world and brought up by their own parents”. The ethical norms refer to the biotechnological issues and include matters of creating and implanting human embryos as well as the problem of the surrogate mother – child – biological parents relationship. As far as legal norms are concerned, the case is still open hence Polish law does not take into consideration in vitro fertilization or the admissibility of surrogate motherhood. (shrink)

Recent medical innovations like ‘omics’ technologies, mobile health (mHealth) applications or telemedicine are perceived as part of a shift towards a more preventive, participatory and affordable healthcare model. These innovations are often regarded as ‘disruptive technologies’. It is a topic of debate to what extent these technologies may transform the medical enterprise, and relatedly, what this means for medical ethics. The question of whether these developments disrupt established ethical principles like respect for autonomy has indeed received increasing normative attention during (...) the past years. Yet, more fundamental ethical considerations of a possible disruption of the concept of ‘medical necessity’ (and the potential ensuing clinical ramifications) have been limited if not absent. It is our modest – though morally and practically relevant – aim to address this objective in this article, by exploring how the current wave of allegedly disruptive innovation is invoking a resurgence of this concept and related debates on ‘the’ goal(s) of medicine. (shrink)

Biomedical innovations are making possible the enhancement of human capabilities. There are two philosophical stances on the role that medicine should play in this respect. On the one hand, naturalism rejects every medical intervention that goes beyond preventing and treating disease. On the other hand, welfarism advocates enhancements that foster subjective well-being. We will show that both positions have considerable shortcomings. Consequently, we will introduce a third characterization in which therapies and enhancements can be reconciled with the legitimate objectives of (...) medicine inasmuch as they improve the capabilities that enable the freedom to pursue personal well-being. (shrink)

Questions concerning the parent/ patient’s autonomy are seen as one of the most important reasons for requesting Ethics Consultations. Respecting parent/ patient’s autonomy also means respecting the patient’s wishes. But those wishes may be controversial and sometimes even go beyond legal requirements. The objective of this case series of 32 ECs was to illustrate ethically challenging parent / patients’ wishes during the first stages of life and how the principle of patient’s autonomy was handled. The case series has a qualitative (...) retrospective approach. A documentary sheet was designed de novo and information was gained from EC minutes and medical charts. The cases originate from the following specialties: reproductive medicine, obstetrics and neonatology as well as two interdisciplinary cases. Through the structured EC minutes aspects of patient / parents’ wishes could be identified explicitly. Overall the patient / parents’ wishes were not supported in 61% of the cases. Central reasons for rejection of patient / parent wishes were mainly the protection of the best interest of the unborn / new-born child as well as the rejection of clinical approaches that were regarded as being substandard treatment. The study shows that treatment decisions in reproductive medicine, obstetrics and neonatology raise substantial ethical questions leading to the request for ethics consultation. The systematic case series presented here gives insight into the ethical reflection carried out to support the clinicians in their decision-making and counselling. It shows that clinicians, after using ethics consultation, make deliberate decisions that do not “automatically” fulfil the treatment requests of the patients and parents. (shrink)