Human Dignity and Human Cloning

Silja Vöneky, Dr., is a Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Heidelberg.
Rüdiger Wolfrum, Prof., is Director of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Heidelberg.

Since the cloning of human beings has become technically conceivable, a controversial ethical and legal debate on the desirability and admissibility of human cloning has evolved. The issue touches questions from different disciplines, such as biology, philosophy, theology and law. This book, although mainly focusing on the legal problems, therefore tries to find an interdisciplinary approach to this controversial subject. It contains contributions from philosophers, theologians, and a biochemist, as well as from national and international lawyers. In the first part, a philosophical and theological outline is presented by scholars considering the topic from different cultural and religious (Christian, Muslim, Buddhist and Jewish)viewpoints. Subsequently, the biological foundations are explained by leading scholars in this field. The final two parts are dedicated to the legal questions, considering first the situation under German constitutional law and then on the international plane. In the comprehensive Annex, the most relevant documents for the International (in particular from the UN), European and German legal systems are presented.

"Human Dignity and Human Cloning" contains contributions by philosophers, theologians and lawyers on legal and ethical questions concerning the reproductive and therapeutic cloning of human beings. The main focus lies on the admissibility of cloning in German Constitutional law as well as in public international law. As these legal questions cannot be answered without taking account of the ethical discussion, the topic is analyzed from different cultural and religious viewpoints.

Springer Book Archives

Preface, (Silja Vöneky/Rüdiger Wolfrum); List of Contributors;
List of Abbreviations;
Part 1: Human Creation and Human Dignity in Religious and Ethical Perspectives;
1. The Creation and the Dignity of Man in Islam (Reza
Sheikholeslami);
2. The Pali Buddhist Approach to Human Cloning (Andrew
Huxley);
3. Some Aspects of the Buddhist Assessment of Human Cloning (Jens Schlieter);
4. The Jewish Perspective on Cloning (Manfred Oeming);
5. Christianity and Western Philosophy (Robert Spaemann);
Part 2: Human Cloning from a Scientific Perspective;
6. Human Cloning from a Scientific Perspective (Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker);
Part 3: Limits to Human Cloning under the German Constitution;
7. The Human Embryo is a Person and not an Object (Christian Starck);
8. Does the German Basic Law Protect against Human Cloning? (Jörn Ipsen);
9. Does Cloning Violate the Basic Law's Guarantee of Human Dignity? (Horst Dreier);
10. Back to Kant! An Interjection in the Debate on Cloning and Human Dignity (Wolfgang Graf Vitzthum);
11. From Procreation to Generation? Constitutional and Legal-Political Issues in Bioethics (Brigitte Zypries);
Part 4: Limits to Human Cloning in International Law;
12. International Legal Limits to Human Cloning (Hans Lilie);
13. Who Is Protected by Human Rights Conventions? Protection of the Embryo vs. Scientific Freedom and Public Health (Rüdiger Wolfrum/Silja Vöneky);
14. The Negotiations on a Treaty on Cloning: Some Reflections (Mahnoush H. Arsanjani);
15. A Convention on Cloning - Annotations to an almost Unsolvable Dilemma (Spiros Simitis); Annex: Relevant International and National Documents;
I. International Convention against the (Reproductive) Cloning of Human Beings;
II. Other International Resolutions and Declarations;
III. Council of Europe;
IV. European Union;
V. German Law.