The human embryo in philosophy, science and the law

The next meeting of the Philosophy Society, the last for this academic year, will be held on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Francis Ebejer Hall. Dr Lino J. German will speak about "The Human Embryo in Philosophy, Science and the Law".

The moral status of the human embryo remains one of the most controversial issues in bioethics today. It is the starting point for any discussion on the human embryo, although consensus regarding the stage in embryological development that marks the beginning of individual human life has to be reached.

The issue has been highlighted in recent years as a result of technological developments in assisted procreation and the increasing application of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) for the relief of infertility. We are living in an age when ethical discourse seems to be dominated by controversial issues such as cloning, gamete donation, surrogacy, as well as the possibility of developing new therapeutic tools through research on stem cells for the treatment of a number of hitherto untreatable chronic human ailments.

In his talk Dr German will be giving an overview of the philosophical concept of human personhood and the scientific data concerning the early human embryo, and will argue that the existing distinction between unborn and born human life in Maltese law should be eliminated by according the former the recognition of human personhood with all the legal privileges that would entail.

Dr German is a gynaecologist and former secretary of the Medical Association of Malta. He currently occupies the posts of secretary of the Bioethics Consultative Committee and treasurer of the Commonwealth Medical Association. His interest in the early human embryo led him, late in life, to rejoin the University of Malta where he obtained an M.Phil. in Bioethics with a dissertation on "Syngamy: the logical landmark of human personhood" at the age of 65.

Dr Pierre Mallia, lecturer in Bioethics, will reply.