BIOETHICS LECTURE 3

• Sexuality


  Encompasses nearly every aspect of our being, from attitudes and values, to feelings and experiences. It is influenced by the individual, family, culture, religion/spirituality, laws, professions, institutions, science, and politics.
• Aspects of sexuality

  • Sensuality
  • Intimacy
  • Sexual Identity
  • Sexual Health & Reproduction
  • Sexualization
  • Gender identity
  • Sexual orientation
• Sensuality


  Our level of awareness, acceptance, and enjoyment of our own and others' bodies
• Intimacy


  Our ability to express and have a need for closeness with another person
• Sexual Identity


  Our biological sex—the anatomical parts, hormones, and chromosomes we have at birth
• Sexual Health & Reproduction


  Our attitudes and behaviors toward our health and the consequences of sexual activity
• Sexualization


  Our use of power and influence to manipulate or control others with our sexuality
• Gender identity


  How we feel about and identify as our gender (masculine, feminine, gender non-conforming)
• Sexual orientation


  Who we are sexually attracted to (straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual, asexual, pansexual)
• Sexual meaning makes us realize the need for some measure of fulfillment that only the other can give
• One has to be free from self-centeredness by opening one to the other person
• A happiness that is sought for ourselves alone can never be found. For a happiness that is diminished by being shared is not big enough to make us happy
• Making someone happy
• Commitment


  Consists of care, concern, and responsibility. Safeguarding the other's value. Responsibility to and for one another. Humanizing.
• Human sex is dehumanizing if and when it destroys a person's honor, and becomes a degradation of the other
• Natural Law


  Human sexuality is sacred and a God-given Gift
• Kant


  Act as to treat human as always, an end, never as means
• Rawls


  Justice is fairness. Never take advantage of persons for own personal gains and satisfaction
• Fletcher


  Prostitution out of necessity and survival may be legitimate
• Fundamentals of Marriage

  • Love & commitment
  • Sexual Fidelity
  • Humility
  • Patience & forgiveness
  • Time
  • Honesty & Trust
  • Communication
  • Selflessness
• Moral Dilemmas

  • Sex outside marriage
  • Homosexuality
  • Contraception
  • Artificial Reproduction
  • In vitro fertilization
  • Surrogate Motherhood
  • Abortion
  • Rape
• Abortion


  Three out of ten of all pregnancies end in induced abortion. Nearly half of all abortions are unsafe, and almost all of these unsafe abortions take place in developing countries. Access to safe abortion protects women's and girls' health and human rights. Unsafe abortion can lead to immediate health risks – including death – as well as long-term complications, affecting women's physical and mental health and well-being throughout her life-course. It also has financial implications for women and communities. Unsafe abortion procedures may involve the insertion of an object or substance (root, twig, or catheter or traditional concoction) into the uterus; dilatation and curettage performed incorrectly by an unskilled provider; ingestion of harmful substances; and application of external force.
• Rape


  Rape, unlawful sexual activity, most often involving sexual intercourse, against the will of the victim through force or the threat of force or with an individual who is incapable of giving legal consent because of minor status, mental illness, mental deficiency, intoxication, unconsciousness, or deception. In many jurisdictions, the crime of rape has been subsumed under that of sexual assault. Rape was long considered to be caused by unbridled sexual desire, but it is now understood as a pathological assertion of power over a victim. By that definition, rape is "the penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim."
• Statutory Rape


  The age at which an individual may give effective consent to sexual intercourse is commonly set in most countries at between 14 and 18 years (though it is as low as 12 years in some countries). Sexual intercourse with a person below the age of consent is termed statutory rape, and consent is no longer relevant. The term statutory rape specifically refers to the legal proscription against having sexual intercourse with a child or any other person presumed to lack comprehension of the physical and other consequences of the act. The term statutory rape may also refer to any kind of sexual assault committed against a person above the age of consent by an individual in a position of authority (e.g., employers, teachers, clergy, doctors, and parents).
• Sensuality


  Enjoyment of physical senses, such as touch, taste, smell, sight, and sound. Can be expressed through activities like massages, cooking, or listening to music.
• Intimacy


  Close, personal connection between two people. Can be emotional, physical, or both. Examples include sharing secrets, holding hands, or cuddling.
• Sexual Identity


  A person's sense of self in relation to their sexuality. Includes their sexual orientation, gender identity, and how they express their sexuality.
• Sexual Health & Reproduction


  Maintaining good sexual health and the ability to reproduce. Includes practicing safe sex, getting regular check-ups, and understanding reproductive anatomy and physiology.
• Sexualization


  The act of making something sexual in nature. Can be intentional or unintentional, and can have negative consequences such as objectification or exploitation.
• Gender Identity


  A person's internal sense of their own gender. Examples include cisgender, transgender, and non-binary.
• Sexual Orientation


  A person's emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attraction to others. Examples include heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, and asexual.