ABSTRACT
Self-determination is regarded as the starting-point for moral decision-making, human nature is reduced to being free and reasonable, and the idea that nature might serve as a criterium for moral behaviour or as a standard for moral guidance seems to have lost all credibility. In short, nature counted as a basic principle in ancient ethical discourse. And rather than trying to comply with nature, nature has to be mastered in order for human life to flourish. In the debate on in vitro fertilisation (IVF) in elderly woman, as well as in other debates concerning IVF, a John Donne-like understanding of nature still appears to be at work. Menopausal IVF seems to be quite at odds with the traditional possibility of experiencing nature. Whenever nature emerges as an argument in contemporary bioethics, we have to be conscious of the fact that incompatible models for moral assessment are involved.
