Thursday, January 25, 2018
Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 390 – Part II.
(Youcat
answer - repeated) Scientific, psychological, or medical experiments on a live
human subject are allowed only when the results that can be expected are
important for human well-being and cannot be obtained otherwise. Everything,
however, must take place with the free and informed consent of the subject in
question.
A deepening through CCC
(CCC 2294)
It is an illusion to claim moral neutrality in scientific research and its
applications. On the other hand, guiding principles cannot be inferred from
simple technical efficiency, or from the usefulness accruing to some at the
expense of others or, even worse, from prevailing ideologies. Science and
technology by their very nature require unconditional respect for fundamental
moral criteria. They must be at the service of the human person, of his
inalienable rights, of his true and integral good, in conformity with the plan
and the will of God.
Reflecting and meditating
(Youcat comment) Moreover, the experiments must not be
disproportionately risky. To make human beings the subjects of research against
their will is a crime. The fate of the Polish resistance fighter Dr. Wanda
Poltawska, a close confidant of Pope John Paul II, reminds us what was at stake
then and still is now. During the Nazi period, Wanda Poltawska was a victim of
criminal human experiments in the Ravensbrück concentration camp. Later Dr.
Poltawska, a psychiatrist, advocated a reform of medical ethics and was among
the founding members of the Pontifical Academy for Life.
(CCC Comment)
(CCC 2295)
Research or experimentation on the human being cannot legitimate acts that are in
themselves contrary to the dignity of persons and to the moral law. The
subjects' potential consent does not justify such acts. Experimentation on
human beings is not morally legitimate if it exposes the subject's life or
physical and psychological integrity to disproportionate or avoidable risks.
Experimentation on human beings does not conform to the dignity of the person
if it takes place without the informed consent of the subject or those who
legitimately speak for him.
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