Islam and Roman Catholicism on Prenatal Homo sapiens:  How Our Histories Can Inform Contemporary Conversations:

Charles Camosy

Charles Camosy Fordham University

Keywords: Islam, Catholic moral theology, bioethics, embryo, moral status, ensoulment

Abstract

There has been much controversy, to say the least, about how to think about the moral status of the very early human embryo. Two major players in this debate, Islam and Catholicism, have robust histories of moral reflection about this topic which lend themselves to a dialogue involving mutually-critical correlation. This article artles that the insights from this dialogue can help us move forward in the debate in substantive ways.

Author Biography

Charles Camosy, Fordham University

Charlie Camosy is Associate Professor of Theology at Fordham University in the Bronx, New York. He received a PhD in theology from Notre Dame in 2008. His interests are focused especially on fostering intellectual solidarity between political and ethical approaches which find conversation difficult. He has published widely in academic journals and in other media, and has authored Too Expensive to Treat (2010), Peter Singer and Christian Ethics (2012), For Love of Animals (2013), and Beyond the Abortion Wars (2015). His most recent book, Resisting Throwaway Culture (2019), was recognized by the Association of Catholic Publishers (US) as “Resource of the Year” in 2020.