To say that a human embryo is flushed away once a month is therefore misleading. The egg is not an embryo, it cannot divide and develop. That's what is "flushed" once a month!
On the other hand, the embryo, formed by fertilization, is a diploid cell (46 chromosomes), it is the earliest form of life, and if let alone it will start dividing, the cells specialize, and given the time becomes a baby.
Can you tell if a cluster of cells is an embryo, with an inalienable right to life, or just that, a cluster of cells? Sure thing! Do a karyotype, where you can actually see the chromosomes. If the cells have one copy of each chromosome, this is a haploid cell, it is NOT a human being, and as such does not have the rights to which human beings are entitled. But if there are 2 copies of each chromosome, this diploid cell IS a brand new, unique, human being and nobody has the right to take his/her life. What these people are doing is taking an unfertilized egg (haploid), removing the nucleus and replacing it with the nucleus of a somatic cell (diploid). Once they have a diploid cell, it can be activated to begin cell division and an embryo is formed. This is a unique human being, both genetically and spiritually, and this is what I oppose killing.
As for harvesting embryonic stem cells to save your life... don't hold your breath! So far there has not been a single report of treating a condition with embryonic stem cells. On the other hand, there are dozens of treatments with ADULT stem cells, ranging from experimental, to clinical trials, to standard treatments like bone marrow transplant. So, if I was concerned about saving my life, I would go with the research that shows results, not with the one that promises but does not deliver!
You're my new favorite FReeper.
Romney and Bush have both been pushing this “altered nuclear transfer” garbage, trying to pawn it off as moral, and many of us have been trying to wake people up to the fact that they’re cloning embryos, and killing human beings. But you have done a far better job at destroying this myth than anyone I’ve seen. Thanks.
To say that a human embryo is flushed away once a month is therefore misleading. The egg is not an embryo, it cannot divide and develop. That's what is "flushed" once a month!
On the other hand, the embryo, formed by fertilization, is a diploid cell (46 chromosomes), it is the earliest form of life, and if let alone it will start dividing, the cells specialize, and given the time becomes a baby.
Can you tell if a cluster of cells is an embryo, with an inalienable right to life, or just that, a cluster of cells? Sure thing! Do a karyotype, where you can actually see the chromosomes. If the cells have one copy of each chromosome, this is a haploid cell, it is NOT a human being, and as such does not have the rights to which human beings are entitled. But if there are 2 copies of each chromosome, this diploid cell IS a brand new, unique, human being and nobody has the right to take his/her life. What these people are doing is taking an unfertilized egg (haploid), removing the nucleus and replacing it with the nucleus of a somatic cell (diploid). Once they have a diploid cell, it can be activated to begin cell division and an embryo is formed. This is a unique human being, both genetically and spiritually, and this is what I oppose killing.
As for harvesting embryonic stem cells to save your life... don't hold your breath! So far there has not been a single report of treating a condition with embryonic stem cells. On the other hand, there are dozens of treatments with ADULT stem cells, ranging from experimental, to clinical trials, to standard treatments like bone marrow transplant. So, if I was concerned about saving my life, I would go with the research that shows results, not with the one that promises but does not deliver!
Nice post. I think some scientists are playing semantics and are, as usual, not very good at it without a hammer in their hand (to beat a slogan to death).
What the article and you are describing sounds like human cloning, no? How is this even allowed by law?
Oh, and just to add to your great description of the process of human generation: actually a couple dozen unfertilized eggs are lost in each menstrual period. Only one (or two) may have actually ripened, but there are usually between 10 and 30 unripened follicles that are destroyed with each cycle.
“fertilization” is joining 2 unique halves of dna in an egg.
Here, we are talking about removing the original 23 in the egg, and adding a full set of 46 already found in the mother. In other words, HER CLONE.
Please answer why I should not be able to get what I may need to live by “harvesting” my embryonic clone? Or do you hold that my clone has a unique spirit as well?