DO INFERTILE COUPLES HAVE A NATURAL RIGHT TO A CHILD? Cover Image

MÁ NEPLODNÝ PÁR PŘIROZENÉ PRÁVO NA DÍTĚ?
DO INFERTILE COUPLES HAVE A NATURAL RIGHT TO A CHILD?

Author(s): Vojtěch Šimek
Subject(s): Christian Theology and Religion
Published by: Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci
Keywords: Natural Right to a Child; Natural Rights of a Child; Assisted Reproduction; Hans Jonas and Bioethics; Donum vitae; Dignitas personae; the Catholic Church and Bioethics

Summary/Abstract: The paper provides a differentiated answer to the question: Do infertile couples have a natural right to a child? The point of departure is Hans Jonas’s text entitled Rights, the Law and Ethics: How do they react to the offer of the latest reproduction techniques? published in 1986 and two key documents of the Teaching Authority of the Catholic Church: Donum vitae published in 1987 and Dignitas personae published in 2008. The newest Czech and German bioethical resources as well as, for example, the relevant Czech legal norm (statute no. 373/2011 Sb.) are also taken into account and integrated. From the point of view of natural law and in the context of the stated reference texts, the question is answered negatively. In the concluding reflection the author demonstrates the strong claim, asserted by infertile couples in the current practice of assisted reproduction, has a relevant correlate in the natural rights of the child, which must be morally respected.

  • Issue Year: XVI/2014
  • Issue No: 3
  • Page Range: 192–213
  • Page Count: 22
  • Language: Czech