Sterilization and

Mutilation

Applications and Moral Issues

What is Sterilization?
 In Microbiology:
 Sterilization refers to any process that
effectively kills or eliminates transmissible
agents (such as fungi, bacteria, viruses,
spore forms, etc.) from a surface,
equipment, article of food or medication, or
biological culture medium. Sterilization does
not, however, remove prions. Sterilization
can be achieved through application of
heat, chemicals, irradiation, high pressure
or filtration.
What is Sterilization?

 As surgical procedure:
 Sterilization is a surgical technique leaving
a male or female unable to reproduce. It is
a method of birth control.
Common sterilization methods
include:
 Vasectomy in males.
The vasa deferentia, the tubes which
connect the testicles to the prostate,
are cut and closed. This prevents sperm
produced in the testicles to enter the
ejaculated semen (which is mostly
produced in the seminal vesicles and
prostate).
Common sterilization methods
include:
 Tubal ligation in females, known popularly as
"having one's tubes tied".
The Fallopian tubes, which allow the sperm to
fertilize the ovum and would carry the
fertilized ovum to the uterus, are closed. This
generally involves a general anesthetic and a
laparotomy or laparoscopic approach to cut,
clip or cauterize the fallopian tubes.
Other procedure that result in
sterility:
 Hysterectomy in females. The uterus is
surgically removed, permanently preventing
pregnancy and some diseases, such as
uterine cancer.
 Castration in males. The testicles are
surgically removed. This is frequently used for
the sterilization of animals, with added effects
such as docility, greatly reduced sexual
behaviour, and faster weight gain (which is
desirable in some cases, for example to
accelerate meat production).
Moral Issues on Sterilization

 The Catholic church has strongly condemned

all artificial methods of Contraception (a
position also held by most Protestant
churches up to 1930, when the Anglican
church voted for change).
 This includes the contraceptive pill, condoms
and also medical procedures such as
Vasectomy and Sterilisation. Infact the church
regards contraception as mortally sinful. The
official position is stated in the papal
encyclical Humanae Vitae , issued by Pope
Paul VI in 1968.
Moral Issues on Sterilization

 Therefore We base Our words on the first principles of a human

and Christian doctrine of marriage when We are obliged once
more to declare that the direct interruption of the generative
process already begun and, above all, all direct abortion, even
for therapeutic reasons, are to be absolutely excluded as lawful
means of regulating the number of children. Equally to be
condemned, as the magisterium of the Church has affirmed on
many occasions, is direct sterilization, whether of the man or of
the woman, whether permanent or temporary."

 "Similarly excluded is any action which either before, at the

moment of, or after sexual intercourse, is specifically intended
to prevent procreation - whether as an end or as a means."

Humanae Vitae
Ethical Issues
 The main issues that raise ethical dilemmas following the
development of assisted reproduction techniques are: the right
to procreate or reproduce; the process of in vitro fertilization
itself — is it morally acceptable to interfere in the reproduction
process?; the moral status of the embryo; the involvement of a
third party in the reproductive process by genetic material
donation; the practice of surrogacy; cryopreservation of pre-
embryos; genetic manipulation; experiments on pre-embryos,
etc..
 For those who consider life to begin at conception abortion
always equals murder and is therefore forbidden. Those who
believe in the absolute autonomy of the woman over her body
take the other extreme approach.
 The development of new effective contraceptive methods has
a profound impact on women's lives. By the use of
contraception/sterilization it is possible to lessen maternal,
infant and child mortality and to reduce the prevalence of
sexually transmitted diseases.
What is Mutilation?

 Mutilation or maiming is an act or

physical injury that degrades the
appearance or function of the (human)
body, usually without causing death.
Usage of term

 The term is usually used to describe the

victims of accidents, torture, physical
assault, or certain premodern forms of
punishment.
Moral Issues on Mutilation
 Theory: The principle of totality presupposes
that “parts exist for the whole ... The good of
the part is subordinated to the good of the
whole; the whole is the determining factor for
the part and can dispose of its own interest.”
Aristotle puts it briefly as totum quam parte,
prius esse necesse est. The main notions on
which the principle grounds itself are “the
whole, the part, and their mutual
relationships.”
Regarding the part, Aristotle explains it in the
following manner:
Moral Issues on Mutilation
 1) A part denotes any portion of a quantum
into which it can “be divided, for that which is
taken from a quantum qua quantum” remains
always a part of it.
 2) Part can be understood as the constituent
element of a dividable kind “apart from the
quantity.”
 3) Whole, which includes a part, can be
divided.
 4) Finally, the constituent “elements in the
definition which explain a thing are also parts
of the whole.”
Moral Issues on Mutilation
 The justification of mutilation on the basis of the
principle of totality by moral theologians of the 17th
century, viz., L. Molina, L. Leonardus, J. De Lugo, and P.
Laymann followed the same reasoning as Aquinas
without any difference.
 We do not find any new developments in their teachings.
As well, moral theologians of the 18th and the 19th
centuries accepted the conclusion regarding mutilation
in the same manner as their predecessors.
 Again, the teachings of the theologians in the first forty
years of the 20th century also continued in the same
traditional direction. In addition, even though the
scholastics unanimously accepted the justification of
mutilation by Thomas Aquinas, there are differences in
the application of these principles to particular issues.
Moral Issues on Mutilation

 1) A diseased part is harmful to the

whole body.
 2) Another question pertains to “the
predicament of a person who was
ordered by a tyrant to cut off his own
hand.”
 3) Another case is “the necessity to
amputate an extremity.”
Moral Issues on Mutilation
 Above all, concerning the morality of mutilation,
traditional moral theologians base their arguments on
the fifth commandment, that man/woman has only a
limited right over his/her body.
 More precisely, mutilation on the ground of the principle
of totality is justified only by the physical good of the
person.
 Further, we will see that the application of the principle
of totality is considered more with medical issues during
the period of Pius XI and Pius XII.
Bioethical Principles

 The Principle of Integrity and Totality