Autonomy as an Element of Human Dignity in South African Case Law

Abstract

Introduction Human dignity features prominently in various international human rights instruments. In addition, human dignity is also a central concept in biolaw and bioethics – fields that are becoming increasingly relevant as the biological revolution dawns on mankind. But what exactly is meant by human dignity? Especially in the fields of biolaw and bioethics, human dignity has been used to support various divergent points of view. This apparent absence of a clear meaning creates questions about the usefulness of this concept, and valid fears that it can easily serve to camouflage unconvincing arguments and unarticulated biases. John Harris provides a colorful analogy: