On Thursday, August 29th and Friday, August 30th, the bioethics conference "Contemporary Dilemmas of the Beginning of Life" was held, organized by the Institute of Sciences for the Family and the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences of the Universidad Austral, together with the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God.

With a full auditorium on both days, the event drew professionals and students from Argentina, Peru, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and Honduras. Nearly 200 participants from various countries in the region also followed the event online.

The opening of these sessions was led by Dr. Juan Bautista Etcheverry, Vice-Rector of Research at the Universidad Austral and Brother Erik Castillo Carreño of the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God.

The first panel of presentations addressed the topic of "Fetal Medicine," in which the subject was discussed from a scientific perspective by Dr. Mariana Esteban; from a social and personal perspective, with the testimony of Dr. Luis María Caballero; and from the pastoral approach in perinatal palliative care by Lic. Marta Finochietto.

After the break, the keynote address was given by Dr. Paola Delbosco, president of the National Academy of Education, who spoke about "The concept of the human person".

In her presentation, she pointed out that dignity is inherent in being a person at any stage: "there may be an asymmetry in the care of one another, but the actions of some upon others do not take away the dignity of each person."

Following this, the second panel discussion, "Medically Assisted Reproduction," was held. Dr. Gloria Sanchez Zinny presented on NaProTechnology, while Dr. Angélica Sarmiento explained Assisted Human Reproduction Techniques (ART). Dr. Lorena Bolzon then addressed the legal framework regarding parentage in assisted reproduction.

The last panel of the day focused on the topic of “Manipulation and freezing of the human embryo”, with the participation of Dr. Angela Suburo, Dr. María Marta Cúneo, and Dr. Luis Olaguibe.

This day ended with the conclusions of Ms. Dr. Silvia Oger, from the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God, and Fr. Dr. Gustavo Páez, from FCB.

On Friday, the day began with speeches by Dr. Dolores Dimier de Vicente, from the ICF, and Dr. Enrique Romero, from the OHSJD.

The fourth panel of presentations was led by Dr. Maricela Gonzales, Dr. Margarita Bosch, and Dr. Atilio Álvarez, who addressed the topic of "Surrogacy".

Next, Dr. Nicolás Lafferriere, Director of Applied Legal Research at the UCA Faculty of Law, delivered the keynote address on “Human Dignity.” He concluded that “the extraordinary capacity to understand and intervene in the beginning of human life must be accompanied by an equal capacity to recognize and promote the inalienable and inherent dignity of that human being from the very moment of conception.”

To conclude the sessions, Drs. Guillermo Mazzolini and Lorena Bolzon, deans of FCB and ICF, respectively, said a few words of thanks on behalf of the Universidad AustralThen, Brother Ermit Aguayo, Superior of Our Lady of the Pillar House, was in charge of giving thanks on behalf of the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God.