Protected by Substitute Consent as a Human Right: A Reformed Perspective

Abstract

In 2005, the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights (UDBHR) by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was accepted unanimously by the world community, consisting of 191 member nations, which means that the declaration is currently the first and only bioethical text to which the entire world has committed itself. It must be borne in mind, though, that this document, particularly Article 7 of the UDBHR, is not of religious origin and must therefore be evaluated from a Christian point of view. This article strives to ground the ethical and human-rights issue of substitute consent from a Reformed perspective. The grounding is performed in light of the creation and salvation perspectives.