ABSTRACT
Frequent reference to the concept of human dignity as a normative principle is a distinctive feature of German bioethical discussion. In many respects the use of the concept of human dignity in recent bioethical discussions of reproductice technologies is problematic. There is more than one reason to reject an extensive recourse to the concept of human dignity in bioethics. Another reason for rejecting an inflated use of the concept of human dignity is its tendency to blur important distinctions. The respect due to a human embryo or a human corpse is a weak form of respect, much weaker in any case than that due to a human person with the capacities of consciousness and self-consciousness. The prohibition to sell one’s children or one’s wife is generally perceived to have a much higher priority than a prohibition to sell living human embryos or live human organs, or a prohibition to sell dead human embryos or parts of human corpses.
