The role of the Church in bioethics

Abstract

The contribution which an institution like the Catholic Church claims it is capable of giving to bioethics is likely to evoke an ambivalent reaction. In the context of the almost moral chaos surrounding embryo research and experimentation, on one side, and such practices as sperm or egg donation, surrogate motherhood and womb-leasing, on the other, it is not difficult to understand why people should feel more urgently than ever the need for some moral guidance. At a time of collective doubt and, one may also say, helplessness in the face of revolutionary scientific and technological developments, it is only natural to seek a sufficiently safe moral authority. Some people may turn to the Church precisely to see whether it can provide them with suitable guidance in a time of moral disorientation.