The Vatican, the Law and the Human Embryo

Part 1: Catholic and universal; inalienable human rights; embryos, human beings, and persons. Part 2 Mediation and St Thomas Acquinas: salvation through mediation; body and soul; knowledge of the natural law; the influence of Thomas. Part 3 What price human life?: dubious headlines; double-effect and the Pauline principle; irreconcible commitments; the price of humanlife; the inevitable conclusion. Part 4 Natural and divine values: revelation and knowledge of moral law; natural law and civil legislation; church teaching and natural law; natural law and the special value of human life; revelation and the special value of human life. Part 5 The argument of the instruction: the concept of a person; the embryo as person?; souls and embryos; the potentiality argument. Part 6 Doubt and scepticism: the benefit-of-the-doubt argument; further considerations regarding the concept of a person; the 19th century perspective changes; doubt and scepticism; "The one who will be a man already is one". Part 7 Revelation and legislation: the citizen's rights; the embryo/fetus as a citizen?; the Christian's dilemma; justice and inequality; concluding remark - religion, reason, and civil society.