The Right to Identity in the Bioethical Context, Contemporary Challenges in Assisted Reproduction and Filial Relationship

April 10, 2025
Author: Juan Manuel Palomares Cantero 
Versión en Español

Introduction

The right to identity is one of the fundamental pillars for the full development of the person and their integration into society. Far from being a mere legal category or a registration detail, identity constitutes a complex reality that encompasses biological, psychological, social, cultural, and spiritual dimensions. At the core of this right is the ontological dignity of the human being, that intrinsic value possessed by every person simply by virtue of being human, and which gives meaning and support to other human rights.

In recent decades, scientific advancements and sociocultural changes have profoundly altered the conditions under which personal identity is built and expressed. Phenomena such as assisted reproduction, diverse family models, the emergence of new forms of self-identification, and claims for access to biological truth have raised ethical and legal questions that challenge traditional frameworks for protecting this right. In the face of these scenarios, bioethics emerges as an indispensable field of reflection, capable of articulating the defense of human dignity with principles such as autonomy, justice, and non-maleficence.

This article proposes a critical and multidimensional reflection on the right to identity, analyzing its normative and bioethical foundations, as well as its contemporary challenges. From a perspective focused on the best interests of the child and an ethics of recognition, the dilemmas surrounding filiation, assisted human reproduction, and the role of the state in the comprehensive protection of this right which is indispensable for guaranteeing the development of personality and social inclusion.

The Right to Identity

The right to identity, recognized as a fundamental human right, involves the respect and guarantee of the essential elements that form the uniqueness of each person: their name, origin, nationality, filiation, language, cultural belonging, and life trajectory. Its legal recognition is not only a response to an administrative or symbolic need but is an indispensable condition for the person to fully exercise their other rights and freely and consciously build their life project.

At the international legal level, instruments such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child emphasize the obligation of States to guarantee this right, including the preservation of family bonds, nationality, and the possibility of knowing one's biological origin. Furthermore, various Latin American legal systems have incorporated this perspective into their legislation, recognizing that identity is not limited to registration data but encompasses biological, social, and cultural dimensions.

The right to identity acquires relevance in complex contexts such as assisted reproduction, where the anonymity of donors may conflict with the child's right to know their origin. Furthermore, current debates on personal identity, including those related to the experience of one's own body and self-identification, require normative reflection that always seeks respect for human dignity and the individual's comprehensive truth. In all these cases, the legal dimension of the right to identity must engage with the complex realities that individuals experience in their diversity and vulnerability. However, to fully understand the scope of this right and justify its protection beyond the normative framework, it is necessary to turn to bioethics as a space for reflection that places the person at the center of all decisions and public policies. Below, we will examine the bioethical principles that support and enrich the defense of the right to identity in contemporary contexts.

Bioethical Foundation of the Right to Identity

Bioethics provides an essential approach for analyzing the right to identity from a perspective that goes beyond the normative plane, addressing its existential, relational, and moral implications. By placing the dignity of the person at the center, this discipline helps understand that the protection of identity is linked to other fundamental rights such as life, health, privacy, and non-discrimination. From this perspective, guaranteeing identity is not an administrative or symbolic gesture but a concrete act of recognition and justice.

The principle of autonomy stands out as one of the most relevant bioethical pillars in the protection of the right to identity, as it recognizes the capacity of each person to responsibly assume their history and make decisions in accordance with their conscience and dignity. However, this autonomy must be understood in dialogue with the truth about the human person, considered in their totality as body and spirit. In this framework, legal frameworks addressing identity-related issues—including those related to the experience of one's body and self-identification—must be evaluated not only for their intention to guarantee formal freedoms but also for their ability to promote the integral good of the person. Alongside autonomy, the principle of dignity demands that every human being be recognized as an end in themselves, without reductions or external impositions that fragment their personal development.

In the case of children and adolescents, the principle of the best interests of the child—recognized both by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and by various national legislations—demands that the necessary conditions for the harmonious and integral development of their identity be guaranteed. This involves recognizing their progressive autonomy, balanced with their need for accompaniment, guidance, and protection. In light of bioethics, this development should be rooted in an understanding of the human being as a unity of body and spirit, respecting their dignity, biological truth, and relational dimension.

This principle, along with the guidelines of the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights by UNESCO, strengthens the responsibility of States and institutions to safeguard the right to identity in all its dimensions: legal, biological, cultural, and spiritual. In this framework, bioethics not only acts as a limit to the possible excesses of technoscience but also as a guide that directs decisions towards the integral good of the person, especially in the more vulnerable stages of life.

Assisted Reproduction and the Right to Identity

Assisted human reproduction techniques, especially heterologous methods such as in vitro fertilization with donors, embryo donation, or surrogate gestation, have profoundly transformed the way families are conceived but have also raised complex bioethical dilemmas. The human body, in its lived dimension and not only its biological aspect, must be understood as an expression of the person's dignity, which requires reflection that avoids both biological reductionism and extreme subjectivism. From an integral anthropology perspective, decisions regarding filiation and identity must recognize the unity of body and spirit and consider the impact on all those involved, especially children born from these techniques.

One of the most sensitive dilemmas is the right of minors to know their biological origin, recognized by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, but which conflicts with donor anonymity, often guaranteed by laws or clinical policies. This tension poses an ethical challenge between the child's autonomy (as a future adult) and the donor’s or family’s right to privacy. Various studies show that concealing biological origins can provoke identity crises, emotional conflicts, and affect the integral development of the person, reinforcing the need to prioritize the best interests of the child as a guiding principle.

The lack of specific regulation leaves minors born through assisted reproductive techniques without a legal framework that fully protects their right to identity, creating gaps in the determination of filiation and access to genetic truth. In contrast, countries like the United Kingdom have adopted models that prioritize this right by eliminating donor anonymity, while others like France or Spain maintain restrictions that are now the subject of debate. These differences highlight the urgency of constructing legislation that balances respect for dignity, autonomy, and medical advancements, always guaranteeing the right of the born individuals to know their origins as a fundamental part of their personal identity.

Beyond the biomedical field, the issue of origin and identity truth is also compromised in multiple social and legal situations involving conflicts of filiation. Assisted reproduction is not the only context in which the biological link is hidden, denied, or distorted: unrecognized paternity, disputed genetic tests, or filiations attributed by error are examples that also violate people's right to know who they are and where they come from.

Recognition of Paternity and Filial Conflicts

The recognition of paternity and filial conflicts pose complex bioethical and legal challenges that require a perspective centered on human dignity and the best interests of the child. Decisions regarding filiation, anonymity, or genetic testing should not only respond to individual desires but should be oriented towards the common good, guaranteeing emotional, social, and legal conditions that allow for the full development of the person. Genetic truth cannot be reduced to a technical detail, as it has profound emotional, psychological, and social implications that affect each person's right to know who they are.

Genetic testing has facilitated the determination of filiation but also creates ethical tensions surrounding privacy, bodily autonomy, and family stability. Legal ethics must carefully weigh these elements to avoid the search for truth causing more harm than benefit. The principle of the best interests of the child must guide all decisions, prioritizing their right to identity and integral development above the interests of adults. Filiation, as a legal and ethical category, goes beyond the biological link and involves a moral responsibility with long-lasting effects on the life of the minor.

In the face of these challenges, bioethics proposes comprehensive solutions that harmonize the need for transparency with respect for dignity and personal autonomy, particularly regarding the progressive access to genetic information and psychosocial accompaniment processes. Such measures should be inspired by a comprehensive view of the person, recognizing their identity as a relational and embodied reality, inseparable from their biological, spiritual, affective, and social dimensions. In this sense, the State, as the guarantor of the right to identity, has the responsibility to establish legal frameworks that recognize and protect this reality from birth, promoting just and humane conditions for its development. Bioethics of recognition, centered on the dignity of the human being, requires avoiding all forms of discrimination or exclusion while responsibly accompanying personal processes that shape identity, without reducing them to partial categories or constructions foreign to the truth of the being.

Conclusion

The right to identity cannot be understood as a secondary attribute or merely a legal procedure. It is an essential dimension of the human person, manifested in their history, body, name, relationships, and origin. From a bioethical perspective, this right finds its foundation in the intrinsic dignity of each human being, in their unity of body and spirit, and in their vocation to the good and truth. Therefore, any regulation, institutional decision, or public policy that affects this right should be guided by the principles of justice, respect, responsibility, and non-maleficence.

In the face of contemporary challenges—such as the anonymity in gamete donation, conflicts of filiation, or the lack of regulation in assisted reproduction—it is essential to adopt an integrative view that places the concrete person at the center, especially when dealing with children and adolescents. The principle of the best interests of the child should not be merely a formal declaration but a true guiding criterion that inspires decisions oriented towards their integral development, the construction of a solid identity, and the protection of their foundational bonds.

Finally, bioethics of recognition, understood from the truth of the human person, does not seek to impose models, or deny the diversity of experiences but aims to offer accompaniment, ethical discernment, and justice guarantees for all. The role of the State is non-delegable: it must ensure that each person has access to their personal truth, their origin, and the conditions that allow them to live their identity with freedom, responsibility, and fulfillment. Recognizing the right to identity is not simply accepting a difference but doing justice to the dignity that constitutes us.

Bibliography

Juan Manuel Palomares Cantero is a lawyer, master's degree holder, and doctor in Bioethics from the Universidad Anáhuac, Mexico. He has served as Director of Human Capital, Director, and General Coordinator at the Faculty of Bioethics. He currently works as a researcher at the Academic Director of Integral Formation of the same University. He is a member of the National Mexican Academy of Bioethics and the Latin American and Caribbean Federation of Bioethics Institutions. This article was assisted in its writing using ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence tool developed by OpenAI. 

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