ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 04

Author(s): International School for Jain Studies
Publisher: International School for Jain Studies

Page 459

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1.0 Introduction
Ethics is a branch of philosophy. It is the science of conduct that evaluates morality and moral code of conduct logically. Although initially they were practiced for spiritual development and salvation; this concept became in the modern times as an applied field of ethics and when applied in the field of medical practice it became known as bio-ethics.
Bio Medical Ethics in Jainism
Dr. D. K. Bobra
Bioethics is the ethics for the application of biological Science & Medicine to the living beings. Some bio-ethicists would narrow bioethics only to morality of medical treatment, technological innovations, and the timing of medical treatment of humans, while others include all organisms capable of feeling fear & pain. The problem becomes more complicated due to the explosion of scientific knowledge and technology of the late twentieth century, advances in life support therapies and possibilities of test tube babies, organ transplant and gene therapy to name a few, brought in religious and political forces in the picture. Hippocratic medical ethics of 1960 is not enough to deal with present day and future possibilities. Bioethics is not a new set of principles but the same old ethics applied to a particular realm of concerns.
Religious bio-ethicists have developed rules & guidelines on how to deal with these issues from within the viewpoint of their respective faith. Many religious bio-ethicists are Jewish or Christian scholars. However a growing number of religious scholars from other religions have become involved in this field as well. Islamic clerics have begun to write on this topic. A naturalistic outlook that leads to a rationalistic, pragmatic approach, in general characterizes Buddhist bioethics. In many Asian cultures there are lively discussions on these issues.
As for Jain religion, the twelfth p rva, out of 14 p rvas (canonical literature of Jains prior to Mah vra) is called Pr v ya and dedicated to science of life. However it is extinct. Still we find description of medical science in c ra ga, BRhatkalpa, Pinda Nijjutti, Ni itha-cur etc. Later on a descriptive works by Ugradit c rya called kaly nak raka were written which are supposed to be based on the Pr v ya. Later on we have excellent works by Samanta Bhadra, Pujyap da, Hema Candra etc detailing specific aspects of medical science. Besides, the entire ethical doctrine of Jains is given in details in various c ras, like c rA ga, Mul c ra, Ratna Kara dasr vak c ra etc. Overall there are more than 1000 texts written by Jain c ryas, s dhus, laymen, practitioners etc.
I am neither a Jain scholar nor an expert in bioethics; I have tried to make a sincere effort to bring few points for purpose of discussion on this topic.
1.1 Bioethical Issues, which need Attention as per Jain Ethics
• Abortion
• Artificial Insemination
Artificial Womb
• Assisted Suicide
Blood/blood plasma (Trade)
Cloning
Contraception
Euthanasia (human, animal)
Gene Therapy
Human Cloning
Human Genetic Engineering
Infertility (Treatments)
Life support
Life Extension
Organ Donation
Population Control
Procreative Beneficence Procreative Liberty
Sperm & eggs (Donation)
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STUDY NOTES version 4.0