A more formal statement of this question investigates the moral status of the embryo. The question can be broad or limited to a particular stage of development. Conception produces a one-celled entity, the zygote. After three cell divisions an eight-celled structure is formed called the blastocyst. A blastocyst is also termed a morula, because the tiny ball of cells looks like a mulberry.

Cellular differentiation begins at the 16-cell stage. The cells of the morula are called blastomeres. Inner blastomeres become the inner cell mass. These cells will differentiate into the three layers of the embryo - the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. The outer blastomeres become the trophoblast. The trophoblast further differentiates into the placenta which provides nutrition to the developing embryo. The developing embryo is characterized as a fetus at the beginning of the 11^th week of gestation (9weeks after fertilization).

Are any of these entities - zygote, blastocyst, morula, embryo, fetus - a human being? Certainly each entity is alive. Each entity is a living organism. Which, if any, are human beings? Put another way, which of these living organisms is a person? Such questions have been discussed, analyzed, and debated for decades. The discussions and debates intensified in the run-up to the Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 [see link below].

The debates on abortion and the moral status of the embryo and fetus have persisted, being carried on in Congress, the professional literature, the media, and in houses of worship. Sadly, a few partisans on one side of these issues have grossly violated our laws and democratic principles, going so far as to murder physicians who perform abortions. Most recently, the well-known director of an abortion clinic was murdered in Wichita, KS, on Sunday morning, May 31, 2009. The doctor was killed while attending church.

Many people believe a single-cell fertilized human egg - a zygote - is a full-fledged human being. Therefore embryos and fetuses in all stages of development are full-fledged humans as well. Destruction of even a zygote in scientific research therefore represents murder. A 1999 article published in the Kennedy Institute for Ethics Journal asserted that research on embryos "directly promotes the destruction of embryonic human life" and destruction of embryos represents "wrongful killing". [Doerflinger 1999]

Such a position presents many difficulties. For example, up until the 14^th day of development and formation of the primitive streak, an embryo has the capability to spontaneously divide and form identical twin embryos. Also, prior to 14 days two distinct embryos (if present in a single womb) may spontaneously fuse to become a single embryo. This process of mosaicism forms a chimera, an organism composed of two or more populations of genetically distinct cells. Therefore, prior to the formation of the primitive streak the embryo cannot be considered a distinct human individual. The embryo is a living organism, but it is not yet a human being.

If these embryos are not human beings, their destruction in various scientific research activities does not represent murder. Sacrifice of these living organisms is thus ethical and appropriate during scientific research which is intended to provide benefit to large numbers of people.

Doerflinger RM: The ethics of funding embryonic stem cell research. A Catholic viewpoint. Kennedy Inst Ethics J 9(2):137-150, 1999

The Roe v. Wade decision may be found here.

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