{"id":7042,"date":"2016-11-11T13:34:54","date_gmt":"2016-11-11T21:34:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=7042"},"modified":"2023-01-22T15:45:04","modified_gmt":"2023-01-22T23:45:04","slug":"an-unholy-mess-why-the-sanctity-of-life-principle-should-be-jettisoned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=7042","title":{"rendered":"An Unholy Mess: Why &#8216;The Sanctity of Life Principle&#8217; Should Be Jettisoned."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">David Albert Jones<\/h4>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"158\" height=\"230\" src=\"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/new-bioethics.jpg\" alt=\"The New Bioethics\" class=\"wp-image-10167\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The New Bioethics<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>Abstract<\/strong><br> The aim of this article is to present an account of an important element of medical ethics and law which is widely cited but is often confused. This element is most frequently referred to as \u2018the principle of the sanctity of life\u2019, and it is often assumed that this language has a religious provenance. However, the phrase is neither rooted in the traditions it purports to represent nor is it used consistently in contemporary discourse. Understood as the name of an established \u2018principle\u2019 the \u2018sanctity of life\u2019 is virtually an invention of the late twentieth century. The language came to prominence as the label of a position that was being rejected: it is the name of a caricature. Hence there is no locus classicus for a definition of the terms and different authors freely apply the phrase to divergent and contradictory positions. Appeal to this \u2018principle\u2019 thus serves only to perpetuate confusion. This language is best jettisoned in favour of clearer and more traditional ethical concepts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jones DA, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/full\/10.1080\/20502877.2016.1238649\"> An Unholy Mess: Why &#8216;The Sanctity of Life Principle&#8217; Should Be Jettisoned<\/a>.&nbsp; The New Biothics, Vol. 22, 2016, Issue 3.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>David Albert Jones Abstract The aim of this article is to present an account of an important element of medical ethics and law which is widely cited but is often confused. This element is most frequently referred to as \u2018the principle of the sanctity of life\u2019, and it is often assumed that this language has &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=7042\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;An Unholy Mess: Why &#8216;The Sanctity of Life Principle&#8217; Should Be Jettisoned.&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[554,2],"tags":[317,641],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-7042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ethics","category-journal-article","tag-david-albert-jones","tag-sanctity-of-life"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\r\n<title>An Unholy Mess: Why &#039;The Sanctity of Life Principle&#039; Should Be Jettisoned. - Protection of Conscience Project Library<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"&quot;Sanctity of life&quot; is not a principle, but a late 20th century label invented to caricature a rejected position. 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