Agius Emmanuel
Faculty of Theology, Room 204 Humanities A Building, University of Malta, Msida MSD 2080, Malta.
Hum Reprod Genet Ethics. 2011;17(2):155-84. doi: 10.1558/hrge.v17i2.155.
The precise meaning of "human dignity" is increasingly being questioned in ethics and law Is human dignity an adequate guide to policymaking in today's biotechnological era? This article is an attempt to answer this thorny issue. The emergence of the concept of human dignity as a key point of reference for the regulation of modern science and technology in the European Union is evaluated. The main contribution of this article is to prove that in EU Directives and Recommendations, human dignity is not an elusive concept but rather a regulatory restraint in European public policies on biotechnology, particularly through the influence of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE). Two examples will be elaborated to prove this claim: first, the issue of intellectual property in biotechnological inventions, and secondly the funding of research proposals involving the use of human embryonic stem cells. These examples prove that the principle of human dignity is not an empty concept as some philosophers and bioethicists claim but rather a normative guideline that is shaping European policies on biotechnology.
“人类尊严”的确切含义在伦理学和法学领域正日益受到质疑。在当今生物技术时代，人类尊严能否为政策制定提供充分指导？本文试图回答这一棘手问题。文章评估了人类尊严概念作为欧盟现代科学技术监管关键参考点的出现情况。本文的主要贡献在于证明，在欧盟指令和建议中，人类尊严并非一个难以捉摸的概念，而是欧洲生物技术公共政策中的一种监管约束，特别是通过欧洲科学与新技术伦理小组（EGE）的影响。将详细阐述两个例子来证明这一观点：第一，生物技术发明中的知识产权问题；第二，涉及使用人类胚胎干细胞的研究提案的资金问题。这些例子证明，人类尊严原则并非如一些哲学家和生物伦理学家所声称的那样是一个空洞的概念，而是正在塑造欧洲生物技术政策的规范性指导方针。
