Lessons Learnt

Abstract

This concluding chapter analyzes three major issues that has been raised by the authors of the six religions—Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism—and the secular perspective on human reproduction. The first common concern is kindship and lineage. With the advancement of reproductive technology, formerly clear lines of paternity and maternity are increasingly blurred, putting stress on family structures, parent-child bonds, birthright, and legislations. A second theme looks at justice and human dignity and the impact on the different stakeholders—the human embryo, future generations, women, and society. The last topic deals with the methodology of religious ethics, between science and myths, legalism and laxism. Monotheistic religions tend to be more legalistic in their approach to ethics compared to eastern traditions which are more flexible as they do not have canonical textual sources, and their interpretations are apparently open-ended.