Human Dignity and Bioethics

430 | Patrick Lee and Robert P. George
in other respects not all animals are equal. For example, every animal
has some parts that move other parts, and every animal is subject
to death (mortal). Since various animals are equally animals—and
since being an animal is a type of substance rather than an accidental
attribute—then every animal will equally have those properties, even
though (for example) not every animal equally possesses the property
of being able to blend in well with the wooded background. Similarly,
possession of full moral worth follows upon being a person (a
distinct substance with a rational nature) even though persons are
unequal in many respects (intellectually, morally, etc.).
These points have real and specific implications for the great controversial
issues in contemporary ethics and politics. Since human
beings are intrinsically valuable as subjects of rights at all times that
they exist—that is, they do not come to be at one point, and acquire
moral worth or value as a subject of rights only at some later time—it
follows that human embryos and fetuses are subjects of rights, deserving
full moral respect from individuals and from the political
community. It also follows that a human being remains a person,
and a being with intrinsic dignity and a subject of rights, for as long
as he or she lives: there are no subpersonal human beings. Embryodestructive
research, abortion, and euthanasia involve killing innocent
human beings in violation of their moral right to life and to the
protection of the laws.
In sum, human beings constitute a special sort of animal. They
differ in kind from other animals because they have a rational nature,
a nature characterized by having the basic, natural capacities (possessed
by each and every human being from the point at which he
or she comes to be) for conceptual thought and deliberation and free
choice. In virtue of having such a nature, all human beings are persons;
and all persons possess the real dignity that is deserving of full
moral respect. Thus, every human being deserves full moral respect.