Response Of Confucian Bioethics To Assisted Reproductive Technologies

Reproduction of children is not only an important activity in the Confucian society,but also a cornerstone of its social order.The infertility patients in Confucian society therefore suffered enormous psychological pressure.The emerging assisted reproductive technology has brought hope to them,while also challenging the Confucian bioethics.This article is a study of how Confucian bioethics responds to the challenges posed by assisted reproductive technology.The meaning of bioethics issues refers to the different ethical values and ethics that appear in the development and application of life science and technology.The ethics of Confucianism that this study focuses on include both the traditional concept of fertility and the views of Confucian civilization on the ethical issues arising from the development and application of new life science and technology.This study shows that the traditional Confucian view of fertility respects the basic physiological needs of human beings,and advocates multiple births and diversity,leading to the formation of a patriarchal society based on the family and blood.The traditional Confucian society's reproductive activities have four characteristics:unique source,fixed time,private process,and unknown results.The application of assisted reproductive technology breaks these characteristics,complicates the source of fertility,flexibilizes the fertility age,makes the fertility process public,and the characteristics of the fetus can also be adjusted through biotechnological means.Confucian bioethics are facing severe challenges.However,Confucian bioethics is not a monolithic one,and its vitality lies precisely in its super adaptability and self-renewal ability.As a product of human spiritual culture,human assisted reproductive technology should accept the value guidance and constraints of Confucian bioethics.At the same time,Confucian bioethics should also summarize and tolerate new scientific and technological values,find a balance between technology and ethics,and develop new ethical principles and philosophical foundations to deal with many ethical dilemmas caused by human assisted reproductive technology.Reconstructing Confucian philosophy on the basis of tracing the original meaning of Confucian life ethics and giving full play to its role in guiding the development of modern biotechnology can not only revitalize Confucian philosophy itself,but also effectively solve the challenge of human ethics from biotechnology.