Human Embryos Quotes
When couples use in vitro fertilization to have children, they usually produce several fertilized embryos one of which is implanted into the womb of the mother. The other embryos can produce stem cells which are cells that can grow into any other kind of cell—brain cells, bone, cells, kidney cells, stc. Therefore they have the most promise for medical research. However, some people regard the embryos as human beings at an early stage of development and see the embryos as life. For them the notion of using that “life” for medical research where a human being will not be produced but instead a medicine or replacement cells for a sick person crosses a moral line of what is proper for a life form. Others observe that the embryos are kept alive in freezers and will be thrown away if not needed so why not use them to help mankind. At the other extreme some are opposed to allowing in vitro fertilization to begin with, but there have been over a million people born with this technique to couples who otherwise would not have been able to have children.
In this case, some anti-abortion advocates who opposed stem cell medical research with fetal stem cells objected also to use of stem cells that were produced by SCNT (Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer). They tried to stop such research in New York State on the grounds that there was a law prohibiting the use of state funds for Human Cloning. They then took the position that SCNY was a form of human cloning. Although almost all biological scientists disagreed, but the decision had to be made by the courts. Judge Garry’s NY Appellate Court opinion conformed the law and the science.
