[Notwithstanding]

"Parthenogenesis is a form of reproduction in which the egg develops without fertilisation"

Once the artifically fertilized egg starts to divide, we DO have a conception - an embryo. The whole idea of Parthenogenesis is that development of the embryo (in this case a human embryo) begins without a sperm.

Contrary to popular myth, opposition to embryonic stem cells has never been about how the embryo came into being. It has always been about killing the embryo once it exists.

[general_re]

It has always been about killing the embryo once it exists.

Right, fine. But as I said in my previous post, we're also talking about embryos here where it's extremely likely that it cannot develop into a viable human baby. If you actually implanted one into a womb, the likelihood is that it would just spontaneously abort or be reabsorbed or be stillborn anyway. We're talking about embryos that really aren't long-term viable anyway, so where does that leave us?

[RightWhale]

opposition to embryonic stem cells has never been about how the embryo came into being.

Seems to be true. Sexual versus asexual reproduction has not been part of this developing story until now. It's a new factor. So we shall refine our definitions.

[victim soul]

FYI:

"The CLC [Catholic Leadership Conference] endorses the position of President George W. Bush which he stated in his first formal address to the American people: "I strongly oppose human cloning, as do most Americans. We recoil at the idea of growing human beings for spare body parts or creating life for our convenience .... Even the most noble ends do not justify any means.

This position conforms with what has been formally taught by the Catholic Church in the instruction issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1987 known as Donum Vitae. "[A]ttempts ... for obtaining a human being without any connection with sexuality through 'twin fission', cloning or parthenogenesis are to be considered contrary to the moral law, since they are in opposition to the dignity both of human procreation and of the conjugal union."



Statement of the Catholic Leadership Conference on Human Cloning

November 1, 2001

http://www.priestsforlife.org/articles/01-11-01humancloningclc.htm