El derecho canónico y la bioética: tensiones y convergencias en la defensa de la vida humana

Abstract

This essay examines the relationship between Canon Law and contemporary bioethics, considering the former not merely as an ecclesiastical legal system, but also as the normative expression of an anthropological framework that recognizes the intrinsic value of the human person from conception until natural death. Through a reflective and argumentative approach, it explores the anthropological foundations of human dignity and four major issues in contemporary bioethics: euthanasia, abortion, assisted human reproduction, and the genetic manipulation of human embryos. Finally, the essay reflects on how these issues are addressed within the Latin American and Dominican contexts. It argues that Canon Law, far from constituting a normative framework detached from secular bioethical debates, contributes conceptual categories such as human dignity, the inviolability of human life, and responsible procreation, thereby enriching interdisciplinary dialogue among theology, law, and the health sciences, while also generating tensions with civil legal frameworks primarily shaped by the principle of individual autonomy.