Perspective
Nature Reviews Genetics 7, 72-76 (January 2006) | doi:10.1038/nrg1744
Science and society: Human dignity: a guide to policy making in the biotechnology era?
Timothy Caulfield1 & Roger Brownsword2 About the authors
Abstract
This article explores the ways in which human dignity is used in debates about controversial biotechnologies, including biobanks, human gene patents, stem cell research and human cloning. Increasingly, human dignity is used as a form of general condemnation and as blanket justification for regulatory restraint. However, this use of human dignity marks a significant departure from the traditional, human-rights informed view of human dignity that has dominated bioethics debates for decades. In addition, on its own, it stands as dubious justification for policies that are aimed at constraining controversial biotechnologies.
Author affiliations
- Timothy Caulfield is at the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2H5, Canada.
- Roger Brownsword is at the School of Law, King's College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS, UK.
Correspondence to: Timothy Caulfield1 Email: tcaulfld@law.ualberta.ca
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