Space bioethics: Why we need it and why it should be a feminist space bioethics.

Abstract

Space philosophy offers rich insights in the future and is already well-developed new branch of philosophy. However, space philosophers still do not pay much attention to a number of bioethical issues that may occur in space. This paper aims to introduce space bioethics, as a new branch in space philosophy, space ethics and space policy, to the philosophical and bioethical discourse. The basic issues discussed in space bioethics include-but are not limited to-human reproduction in space and human enhancement for space. This paper concludes that the new space bioethics should be a feminist new bioethics that is free from many of the historical biases associated with a male-centred perspective in philosophy and bioethics. Bioethical issues in space have also impact on future political decisions related to objectives and nature of space missions.