More IVF
Over at Slate, William Saleten predicts a possibility I hinted at in my last post. I said it made no sense to be opposed to using left-over embryos for stem cell research, while thinking IVF was okay, and that maybe IVF would be the next target of the "culture of life" brigade.
The rhetoric opposing the stem cell bill essentially equated these left-over embryos with real human beings, as if there's no difference between an 8-cell embryo and you or I. It's an interesting definition of a human being, I suppose, but not a very realistic or practical one. Why stop at fertilization? Why not treat sperm and eggs as real live human beings? 8-cell embryos aren't really much closer to a human being than an unfertilized egg.
An 8 cell embryo is like a lottery ticket. Just like a lottery ticket gives you a chance at a pile of cash, an embryo gives you a chance at a human being. But an embryo is no more a human being than a lottery ticket is a pile of cash.
Louise Brown, the first IVF baby, will be celebrating her 27th birthday next month. If IVF is the next target, after this much time, what will be the target after that?
The rhetoric opposing the stem cell bill essentially equated these left-over embryos with real human beings, as if there's no difference between an 8-cell embryo and you or I. It's an interesting definition of a human being, I suppose, but not a very realistic or practical one. Why stop at fertilization? Why not treat sperm and eggs as real live human beings? 8-cell embryos aren't really much closer to a human being than an unfertilized egg.
An 8 cell embryo is like a lottery ticket. Just like a lottery ticket gives you a chance at a pile of cash, an embryo gives you a chance at a human being. But an embryo is no more a human being than a lottery ticket is a pile of cash.
Louise Brown, the first IVF baby, will be celebrating her 27th birthday next month. If IVF is the next target, after this much time, what will be the target after that?
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