As you reflect on Meilaender’s readings, what is his distinction between procreation and reproduction?

Comment #1

According to our readings, What Does It Mean to Be Human?  Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to  our likeness ; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and  over the  birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals  of the  earth, and over every  creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”

To be created in the image of  God means that we must look to God for  our meaning , purpose and direction. It   also makes us  thinking , feeling, willing, re-lational  creatures who reflect these attributes of our Creator. In order to under-stand ourselves in any depth, we must first look to God to know what he in-tended us  to be.

Imago Dei is important and  relevant  to healthcare as if we don’t treat humans having this in mind, then the world  would  become like hell in  earth.  People will be valued only if they can  continue  to contribute to society. Only when people are  young and strong and can  contribute to society.  But we  must  remember, we all will age   and become weak and then we still have needs.  It is this  time of need when we are weak emotionally, physically or  mentally or spiritually that we need to remember we all  have  these moments  and as healthcare workers, we  are always here to treat  everyone with dignity and  respect . If that is the case,  what about all our young soldiers that had sacrificed so much when young and healthy, and now they are old and disabled.         Shouldn’t we consider all they did when they could?  Treating  everyone  like you would like to be  treated should be in our minds every time we care for our   patients.  Humans have feelings and we can express ourselves, that is what separates humans from other species, the  gift to care.

References

Colson. (2009, July 27). Quality Control: Imago Dei and Health Care Costs. Retrieved from https://www.christianheadlines.com/news/quality-control-imago-dei-and-health-care-costs-11606587.html

 

Shelly, J. A., & Miller,  A. B. (2006).  Called to Care: A Christian Worldview for Nursing  (Second ed.). Retrieved January 12, 2017, from https://viewer.gcu.edu/UGPTQ4

Comment # 2

As you reflect on Meilaender’s readings, what is his distinction between procreation and reproduction, as well as that of being begotten versus being made? Do you agree with his description? Why or why not?

 

The issues of procreation and reproduction and being begotten versus  being made or cloning are controversial topics in the religious and  scientific world. Different people have various schools of thought and  they all differ in one way or another. Procreation is defined as  bringing forth an offspring while reproduction is the process in which  organisms are formed or produced by their parents. Cloning is the  replicating of organisms so that they can be genetically identical to  the original organism.
According to Meilaender it is a question of morality. On the issue of  begetting versus cloning he argues from the perspective of  Christianity and theological teachings that place value and importance  on a child and regard it as a gift from God therefore are against the  view of a child as a product. Although not directly guided from the  bible the issue of cloning is explained, as Meilaender points out,  from the point of marriage and parenthood. God in all His wisdom  created humankind and ensured a separation in gender but then enjoined  them through the institution of marriage and mandated them to  procreate and fill the earth. This is how human life should be  sustained and not by other means; it also means that begetting should  be highly valued. Marriage is therefore linked to parenthood through  the begetting of children.

Cloning however seeks to sever the link between procreation and sexual  differentiation which in turn destroys the link of marriage and  parenthood. The relationship between man and woman is however not  simply desired by will and desire but serves a higher purpose that is  based in creation. Cloning breaks this and reduces the relation  between man and woman to a play or form of personal project also  making the begetting and rearing of a child a project that should meet  our desired expectations. The link is therefore important and good for  the child. Human cloning can be permitted only in restricted  circumstances like in the cloning of preimplantation embryos for  research which only lasts for a couple of weeks and is strictly for  research (Meilaender, 2013).
In  the issue of procreation and reproduction there is a clear distinct  because procreation is the sexual unification of a man and a woman  that leads to the begetting of children. Reproduction can however  happen in many other ways, but the other ways of assisted reproduction  end up bringing forth something that is made and not begotten (Dollar, 2016).

I  agree with this thinking and believe that cloning is wrong because it  is a product of our free will and not in any way like us, when we  beget we create something that is similar to us and relatable to us.  With a product we can control it and decide what purpose it will serve  whereas a child has a destiny that we cannot control in any way. I  also agree that procreation brings forth a similar self to us and that  we can use many ways to come up with the same product but it does not  mean that we have done the same thing.

References

Meilaender, G. (2013). BIOETHICS: A Primer for Christians (3rd  ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: ISBN 978-0-8028-6770-4: William B.  Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Perry, R. (2005). Review of Gilbert Meilaender’s Bioethics: A  Primer for Christians. Elca.org. Retrieved 30 September 2016,  from http://www.elca.org/JLE/Articles/635

Dollar, E. (2016). Three Things I Admire About Catholic  Reproductive Ethics. Ellen Painter Dollar. Retrieved 30 September  2016, from http://www.patheos.com/blogs/ellenpainterdollar/2012/03/three-things-i-admire-about-catholic-reproductive-ethics/