Bio/ethical challenges in a postmodern World
Bio/ethical challenges in a postmodern World

Summary/Abstract: Questions of life and death are in the news as never before. Literally millions of human embryos are being created and destroyed in laboratories throughout the world, to perfect and produce in vitro fertilization procedures and to provide embryonic stem cells for research purposes, with the hope of devising therapies for neurological and other diseases. At the other end of life’s spectrum, patients and medical teams are opting increasingly for euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, in order to avoid a painful and drawn-out death. These are bioethical issues of major importance that pose extraordinary challenges in the “postmodern” world. In the past few years, biomedical technology has grown immensely, providing new possibilities for healing as well as new threats to our well-being. With these recent developments come a host of bioethical challenges that the Church must not only face but respond to in a strong, clear voice. Most of us, of course, have no formal medical training. Yet as priests and concerned laypersons, we are called upon to offer guidance – to patients and their families, and to the general public – regarding the moral consequences of biomedical research.

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