The Bioethics of Pro-Life

Exploring the Philosophical Positions Behind the Pro-Life Movement

Apr 22, 2009

When many people hear the words, "pro-life," their thoughts turn immediately to concerned citizens praying outside of an abortion clinic; or lobbying for the end of stem-cell research funding on Capitol Hill.

But like any serious organization seeking to influence public opinion on matters of right and wrong, there is more to the pro-life cause than meets the eye.

The pro-life movement — a vast heading that includes a large number of different, independent organizations and their specific goals — is no different. In a modern world struggling to deal with the problems presented by technological advances, coupled with the age-old questions of human rights and dignity, pro-life activists have their work cut out.

But a new trend in philosophical research — "bioethics" — is providing a point of intersection between secular society and the timeless questions of man's fundamental good.

What is Bioethics?

Bioethics is a philosophical discipline which seeks to explore issues in medical science and human behavior that pertain specifically to the understanding of the human person and its well-being.

In particular, bioethics utilizes the established and accepted ethical principles taken from philosophy, and applies them to situations in the "real world." As such, bioethics forms a sort of nexus between what is properly scientific and what is fundamentally philosophical.

By fusing together these two distinct areas of research, bioethicists make important contributions to the way society sees and deals with various difficult and important issues regarding an understanding of the human person.

The Pro-Life Movement and Bioethics

Since the primary goal of the pro-life movement is to establish and promote an understanding of the human person that underscores the dignity of human life from the point of conception to the point of death, bioethics has become an integrally important tool for proponents of a pro-life position.

For example, "beginning of life issues" is intimately tied to issues like abortion, artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization, while "marital and sexual ethics" concerns itself with issues like contraception, homosexual marriage and others. Each division of bioethics is equally important, yet each has its own distinctive domain.

Looking at issues like abortion and contraception through the lens of secular scientific research and philosophical analysis provides a solid foundation for pro-life arguments. More just religious idealism or dogmatism, bioethics supports the theory that human life is, in the end, truly good, and deserves to be respected as such.

By incorporating all the different facets of bioethical research, the pro-life movement has continued to move toward an approach to human rights that is firmly grounded in the affirmations of medical science; and one which seeks to better articulate the value of human life than was possible in the past.

[For an in-depth look at some concrete arguments from the bioethical standpoint, please visit: www.prolifepropatria.com ]

The copyright of the article The Bioethics of Pro-Life in Philosophy is owned by Andrew Haines. Permission to republish The Bioethics of Pro-Life in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Apr 28, 2009 11:10 AM

Jeff Sue :

How is "philosophical analysis" any different than theological analysis (i.e., theology is, at it's most basic, religious philosophy)? And how will this philosophy be any more relevant of an argument than the theological ones?

Apr 29, 2009 7:17 AM

Andrew Haines :

Doing philosophy is something completely different than doing theology. While theology maintains a great degree of philosophical methodology, the end of theology is a revealed truth (and the method of that revelation), while the end of philosophy is the attainment of truth on the grounds of human reason alone. "Philosophical analysis" (in terms of methodology) is often used in "theological analysis," but the ultimate goals of each remain distinct and non-conflated. Although the methodologies are similar—or even the same—that is not to say that they are at all the same science.

Thus, pursuing the significance of the Pro-Life debate from the perspective of philosophy will enable researchers and activists to make cases and arguments on the grounds of ethics and not simply expose dogma and do apologetics.