The Value of Life of the Embryo Observed from Two Different Lenses: From its Own Potential to Develop, and from the Context in which it is Embedded

Abstract

The chapter deals with moral deliberation over the status of the embryo, observed from two perspectives, namely the inner context of physical and biological composition including the argument of potentiality as a driving force of development, and the external context within lived and experienced practices in which an embryo is inevitably embedded. Both components are integral parts of what constitutes the life of the embryo, and therefore any separated observation is biased and does not fulfill the demands of the universal truth. Hence, the usual argument that focuses exclusively on the embryo itself, whether the embryo deserves moral right as a result of its potentiality for autonomy, is misguided.