Journal of African Studies and Sustainable Development

A cursory glance at the developments in the area of applied ethics reveals a huge set of breakthroughs in bioethics. However, it is a breakthrough in which the Western worldview dominates in the discussion on bioethical issues like stem cell technology, cloning, organ transplantation, in vitro fertilization, gene therapy, abortion, euthanasia, suicide, etc., leaving the African as a spectator and yet it is a discourse that affects him and his future generation. The purpose of this study is to develop critical thinking in the field of bioethics within Africa, and to outline a descriptive analysis of ethical and moral values as rooted in authentic African traditions and cultures that can provide a helpful base or framework for ethical decision-making. This would involve discovering the peculiarities and common features that make African bioethics worth its name. This is very significant because being peculiar is necessary. Concepts such as ‘African culture’, ‘African thought’, ‘African metaphysics’, ‘African philosophy’ etc., heavily imply that there is something distinct about the culture and thought of Africa and presumably, African bioethics would fall into these broad categories. For the purpose of this research, the hermeneutic method of investigation would be patronized. This piece submits that, in our world of change, there is the need for an African bioethics that speaks to the African spirit.

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