UK Law;The surrogate can be paid expenses, but

must receive no fee.

Keywords; Morality, ethics, absolute morality, relative morality, sanctity of life, value of life, quality of life, fertility treatment, in vitro fertilisation insemination by donor (AID), transplant surgery, blood transfusion, human genetic engineering, embryology, embryo, designer baby, stem cell, saviour

(IVF), test-tube baby, artificial insemination, surrogacy, artificial insem

ination by husband (AIH),

artificial

si

blin

gs, c

loni

ng, c

once

ptio

n, q

uick

enin

g, e

nsou

lmen

t, vi

able

, hum

an-a

nim

al h

ybrid

, ex

perim

enta

tion

Religion, morality & life;We all make moral decisions. Believers base their morality upon the teachings of the faith they follow. believe that life is sacred as it is a gift from God.

Fertility treatment;Fertility treatment can be given to those couples who can’t conceive naturally.

Transplants & transfusions;Organs can not be sold for transplants in the UK. Patients will be required to take medication for the rest of their lives to prevent rejection.

Surrogacy;Usually the surrogate mothers egg and fathers sperm are used, with pregnancy being achieved by AI.•The father automatically has equal rights over the child with the surrogate mother.•After 6 weeks both parents can apply for a Parental Order, removing any claim the surrogate mother had.

IVF & AI;Involves the collection of sperm, which Roman Catholics see as ‘spilling the seed of life’, so are against.AID is often most objected to because;•Donor is a stranger•Could be seen as adultery•Allows unmarried women to have children•Allows gay couples to have children•Problems from the child later in life when they find out•Donor may not want identity to be revealed

OR;If the genetic mother has working ovaries then a surrogate can carry the baby conceived through IVF from the parents eggs and sperm.Here the surrogate MUST hand over the baby at birth.

Against IVF;•Not natural – so against God.•Wrong people parents•Expensive – no guarantee of pregnancy

For IVF;•Compassion•Everyone has the right to be a parent•Child maybe loved more•God has given the intelligence to develop technique

Human transplants;•Organs can be given by live donors – kidneys, part of liver, small bowel, pancreas & bone marrow•Can be taken from patients who are brain dead, a machine keeps then ‘alive’ until the organs can be harvested•Have to carry donor card•Link to sanctity, quality & value of life

Animal organ transplants;

•Mainly pig organs or products used (insulin was first harvested from pigs)•Acceptable for Muslims as a last resort

Transfusions;Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that life is carried in the blood, so will not have transfusions. They will accept ‘bloodless transplants’. NO other Christians believe this.

Key religious beliefs; Christian; ‘Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God lives in you?’ 1 Corinthians 3:16, ‘Hannah had none… and the Lord had closed her w

omb.’ 1 Sam

uel 1:2,5, ‘Love your neighbour as (you love) yourself.’ Luke 10:27-28

Human genetic engineering;The ability to change the genes in a cell to allow cures to be found for genetic disorders. Scientist have now ‘mapped’ the entire length of human DNA.

Cloning;The creation of a genetically identical organism. There are 2 types;

No further genetic experimentation is allowed after this point

Religious beliefs;Christianity;Psalm 139: 13, 15 Leviticus 19:18 Leviticus 17:11Exodus 20:13

When does life begin?;

Before conception

Conception(Roman Catholic)

After 14 daysattachment to the womb

3 weeks Heart beat

Quickening - 9 weeks First movements

Ensoulment - 19 weeks

Viability - 24 weeks(abortion is not legal after this point

unless extreme cases)

Birth

Designer babies;In theory this is possible, scientists in USA have developed a genetically modified embryo

Against;•Encourages scientist to ‘play’ God•Creates many unused embryos that are destroyed – murder (Roman Catholics)•Maybe used to cure deafness or blindness•Removes sanctity of life

UK Law;Human Fertilisation & Embryology Bill May

2008Aims to define what UK scientists can and can’t

do

For;•Prevent disease•Allow healthy babies to be born•Good quality of life for babyReproductive;

An identical copy of an animal, plant or even human, however it is

ILLEGAL to clone humans. Most famous clone – Dolly

the sheep

Therapeutic;Also known as stem-cell

cloning. Allows biological material to be cloned from cells that have not been

determined – fewer organ shortages in the future?

UK Law;UK labs are

strictly licenced, embryos are

destroyed at 14 days.

Human hybrids & experiments;

Hybrids:Scientists have created a cow-human hybrid that had survived for 3 days. It is hoped that it can be used to treat Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease.Experiments;Is testing on animals reliable?? All drugs undergo a final stage of testing on humans, it is usually safe for the paid volunteers

Lab testing(animals)

Human testing(3 stages)

Drug is licenced

Problems:

March ‘08

Clinical tests of

drug TGN1412 go wrong