Abstract

LEON C, A. Aspectos Bioéticos Relacionados con el Comienzo y el Valor de la Vida Humana. RFM [online]. 2000, vol.23, n.2, pp.78-84. ISSN 0798-0469.

Opinions about the beginning of human life are categorized in two ways: 1. In terms of the conclusions about the beginning of truly human life, which ranges from the moment of conception to various states in fetal development, viability, and for some time after birth; or 2. In terms of the criteria employed for determining the begining of truly human life: a) individual-biological, b) relational, c) multiple and d) the conferral of rights by society. The question of the value of human life is intimately connected with the question of when human life begins. For those we see the fetus as a truly human being, the fetus has all the rights and values of every other human being. An opposite approach is taken by those who view the embrio or fetus as only tissue in the mother to give the mother the right to control the body as her personal property. Although biological data alone cannot determine the existence of a truly human being, such data prove that the fetus is a biological individual and not merely maternal tissue.

Keywords : Human being; Person; Santidad of human life; Human being in potence.