This book seeks to bring human dignity more clearly into focus. It surveys the way in which human dignity features in a number of international legal instruments, some declaring human rights, others prescribing the limits of modern science and medicine. It also addresses a range of issues, ranging from birth with dignity to death with dignity. Rapid developments in modern genetics carry both a promise of benefit to humans but also various risks. On this negative side, concerns focus on radical changes to the terms of human existence, to the currency of human relationships, to the boundaries...

This book seeks to bring human dignity more clearly into focus. It surveys the way in which human dignity features in a number of international legal instruments, some declaring human rights, others prescribing the limits of modern science and medicine. It also addresses a range of issues, ranging from birth with dignity to death with dignity. Rapid developments in modern genetics carry both a promise of benefit to humans but also various risks. On this negative side, concerns focus on radical changes to the terms of human existence, to the currency of human relationships, to the boundaries of inclusion and exclusion, and to our cultural understanding of birth, life, and death.