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Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Harvesting embryonic stem cells without involving an embryo

Hard to believe, but these scientists believe they can do it -- eventually. And yet, when you consider the delays cited (up to 10 years away), and when you think about the real treatments successfully applied on people from adult or cord blood stem cells, I get the feeling that fighting for the right of the unborn takes more than citing the dismal track record (not to mention the negative outlook) of embryonic farming (via cloning) and stem cell research. All the truth must be told, starting with this: from the moment of conception, embryos are human beings. Before conception, you have 23 chromosomes in both the sperm and egg cells. After fertilization, the result is the blastocyst, with 46 chromosomes -- human! Even before getting implanted on the uterus walls -- human! Furthermore, the DNA fingerprint of the blastocyst is unique, which will be retained by the same being (there is no transformation, only growth) as growth takes place. A human being!

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