The Opposition of Bioethics and Buddhist Teachings

Religious ethics influence and persuade our decisions that are focused on what we do, how we live and how we treat others. As technology advances, more treatments are discovered with many of them being unethical in order to ensure an individual's mental and physical well being. Buddhism is one of the many religions that due to their strong ethics, influence’s its followers to oppose and raise questions towards some medical treatments and their bioethical methods that are being used to improve life expectancy along with the quality of life while having some negative aspects. The bioethics that Buddhist teachings strongly oppose are abortion, cloning, IVF, Stem Cell Research and Euthanasia. The learnings taught through the eightfold path and the five precepts are what results in the followers opposing the bioethics as they see these learnings as the steps to take in order to be enlightened.

Firstly, abortion is being deemed as a very controversial topic as each individuals have different takes on it. Abortion is the termination of a human pregnancy most performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy. Abortion is relied upon in the instances when there has been an accidental pregnancy or the family is aware that the child will be born with deformities or with deadly diseases. The five precepts taught throughout Buddhism is considered to be one of the most significant teachings as it draws the line between good and bad karma. Abortion is considered as bad karma as it opposes the first precept which is usually translated as “I undertake to refrain from destroying life” this precept teaches its followers to not kill any living things. However, abortion is seen as a fully acceptable method in cases where the pregnancy has occurred due to sexual assault. The two sides of an argument heavily rely on the self-knowledge of when human life starts many consider it to start from the embryo and many consider it to start after birth. Buddhism strongly discourages the use of abortion however it does not impose its views on others and refrains from others doing the same. It encourages us to have empathy for those facing difficult situations. (O’Brien 2018). This sources used can be considered useful and valid with no bias as it is evaluating a certain bioethics in relation to major learning such as precept along with similar information being found in different sites.

Secondly, cloning techniques are the lab methods used to produce offspring that are genetically the same as the donor parent. Cloning techniques are also beneficial in carrying out researches as it focuses on treating human diseases, this is carried out by altering animals genetically in order to produce an organ that can be used as transplantation in humans. The animals used for cloning if survive are quite vulnerable to many health problems resulting in a shorter life span (Bailey 2018). Buddhist teachings such as the five precepts results in individuals opposing cloning, the first precept is understood as “I undertake to refrain from destroying life” this is against the methods used to carry out cloning. Human life is usually considered to be the most important however the precept cautions us to refrain from taking any life no matter human or animal when possible. Therapeutic cloning consists of the altering of animals which leaves the animals vulnerable to diseases increasing the chances of them dying due to this medical procedure, reproductive cloning consists of producing offspring that are genetically same to the donor parents however due to the technique still being experimented some human embryos may be destroyed. As there is a possibility of life being destroyed both before and after the lab methods, Buddhism strongly opposes the use of this and suggests the creation of embryos through natural means. Thought Co and other sources were used to research this bioethic, the sources can be deemed useful, valid and bias-free as it accounts for both the positives (Treating severe human diseases) and negatives (killing of life) the sources also states the author (Regina Bailey) and the last edit date (September 10, 2018).

Thirdly, “IVF (In Vitro Fertilisation) is a procedure, used to overcome a range of fertility issues, by which an egg and sperm are joined together outside the body, in a specialized laboratory. The fertilized egg (embryo) is allowed to grow in a protected environment for some days before being transferred into the woman's uterus increasing the chance that a pregnancy will occur.” (IVF Australia). Buddhism does not strongly oppose this bioethic as it correlates with the learning of the four divine abodes and promotes individual happiness of both of the parents involved. (Keown 1995) Buddhism also does not strongly oppose this bioethic as it does not oppose the third precept “ refraining for sexual misconduct” (BBC 2014) this is due to the creation of the embryo taking place outside the body. However, this does oppose the first precept as more than one egg is fertilized in case the first attempt of implantation does not succeed more spare eggs will be available. In the instances where the implantation succeeds in the first attempt the spare eggs are either destroyed or used for medical research, this instances is where Buddhists oppose the procedure. In Buddhist learnings life is considered to begin at conception thus the destroying of the fertilized eggs are looked upon as bad karma. The sources used to collect information is useful, valid and bias-free as the sources used are from major research organizations with a lot of the information being similar to each other and other sources.

Fourthly, Stem cell research studies the properties of stem cells and their potential use in medicine. (Nature) Stem cell research can be characterized into two groups, the research of adult stem cells or embryonic stem cells. Adult stem cells are found in our bodies throughout our lives, many tissues in the human body require stem cells in order to be maintained and repaired. Adult stem cells are multipotent meaning only a limited number of specialized cells which are based on the origin are produced and can only help maintain or repair those areas. Embryonic stem cells, however, are pluripotent meaning that they have unlimited potential to produce specialized cells of the body which results in various new therapies and possibilities for disease research being available (EuroStem Cell). The procedure of adult stem cell research is classified as ethical as adult stem cells are created with the intention of helping others along with no living organism being harmed however the research of embryonic cells and the production of embryonic cells is considered severely unethical as it opposes the first precept. The first precept teaches its followers to not harm any living organisms and as embryos are considered to be living organisms in Buddhism the use of embryos to excrete cells causing the embryos to die is considered to be bad karma. As the first precept is considered when evaluating this bioethic the resources used is considered to be useful, valid and bias-free as the precepts are one of the main Buddhist teachings and are known throughout the Buddhist community.

Lastly, euthanasia refers to the termination of a person’s life, to end their suffering, usually, from an incurable or terminal condition (Ebrahimi 2012), Euthanasia can be categorized as “voluntary”, “involuntary” and “non-voluntary”. Voluntary euthanasia refers to the euthanasia being performed as a request by the patient, voluntary euthanasia is considered ethical as not performing euthanasia may result in greater suffering by the individual, the act of voluntary euthanasia will result in the body being reincarnated into Samsara (Ebrahimi 2012). Involuntary euthanasia refers to the act of euthanasia being carried out without the individual requesting it, it is carried out in the hope to end suffering. Non-voluntary euthanasia refers to the act of euthanasia being carried out while the individual is incapable of consenting. As Buddhism doesn’t oppose voluntary euthanasia it however strongly opposes involuntary euthanasia and non-voluntary euthanasia as it is considered to be a violation of the Buddhist teaching taught through the five precepts mainly the first and the second precept as it is an act of taking someone's life. One of the articles from the “Australian Medical Student Journal” was used to collect information about this bioethic, the source can be deemed as both useful, valid and bias-free as it evaluates the bioethics while considering both the positives and the negatives along with the source providing references to where the information and the teachings used to generate the article was collected from.

Buddhist teachings result in its followers strongly opposing the bioethics- abortion, cloning, IVF, Stem cell research and Euthanasia as some instances involves the killing of human life either before or after the medical precept which violates the five precepts which are considered to one of the major teachings taught throughout Buddhism along with other Buddhist teachings. Various sources were used in order to accurately evaluate the Buddhist teachings on the bioethics and also to increase the reliability of the information.