Preimplantation Foetus, IVF, and the Individual's Becoming: A Kierkegaardian Perspective on the Theology of Human Beginning

This paper explores the moral and existential status of the preimplantation foetus through the lens of Søren Kierkegaard’s existential philosophy, situating the discussion within contemporary debates on personhood in bioethics, particularly in the context of Indonesia’s Ministry of Health Regulations No. 71/2014 and No. 43/2025. Methodologically, the paper employs a hermeneutic–phenomenological approach, engaging close textual interpretation of Kierkegaard’s works alongside theological analysis of Panicola’s bioethical arguments. Through comparative synthesis, it traces how existential and theological paradigms can illuminate the ontological status of the embryo. While many secular frameworks tend to define moral status based on cognitive criteria such as sentience, consciousness, or autonomy, this study challenges such reductionist models by emphasizing a vision of the human self as a dynamic and relational process of becoming. Drawing on Michael Panicola’s theological defense of embryonic dignity within Catholic bioethics, the paper argues that the embryo, even prior to implantation, participates in an existential trajectory toward selfhood. Panicola’s account of the embryo’s ontological unity and intrinsic worth is brought into conversation with Kierkegaard’s definition of the self as “a relation that relates itself to itself,” suggesting that moral significance is not contingent upon developmental milestones, but upon the being’s orientation toward actualization. This approach reframes the embryo not as a passive biological artifact, but as a subject-in-formation whose value lies in its relation to God, to others, and the community of the Church. Integrating theological themes such as the Imago Dei, Trinitarian relationality, and the ecclesial nature of personhood, the paper contends that the preimplantation foetus should be regarded not merely as potential life, but as a life already participating in the sacred unfolding of personhood. In doing so, the study bridges metaphysical, existential, and theological perspectives to offer a holistic view of early human life. Ultimately, this analysis contributes to bioethical discourse by calling for a more reverent and philosophically grounded consideration of the preimplantation embryo as a being whose silent becoming demands ethical recognition and care.