Because "the zygote, cleavage and early blastocyst stages should be regarded as preembryonic rather than embryonic," the conceptus (being formed by the union of sperm and ovum) cannot be a human person.
Because "the zygote, cleavage and early blastocyst stages should be regarded as preembryonic rather than embryonic," the conceptus (being formed by the union of sperm and ovum) cannot be a human person.
The blastocyst is "the early stage in the development of the embryo. The post-morula stage which consists of an inner cell mass and a thin layer of cells enclosing a cavity called the blastocoel. [http://hebron.ee.gannon.edu/~frezza/plae/appendc.html]. It "is one living organism that has two differentiated parts: the temporary but necessary trophoblast formed from the outer cells of the blastocyst and the permanent but still very small inner cell mass. The trophoblast later develops into the placenta, though some of its cells are incorporated into the permanent body." "It is misleading to speak of the inner cell mass as "embryonic," the trophoblast as "extraembryonic," and the two together as "preembryonic." Since the blastocyst is one living organism, and the organism is human, one can deny that it is a human person only by making the faulty distinction between human being and human person. See p. 233.
Because "the zygote, cleavage and early blastocyst stages should be regarded as preembryonic rather than embryonic," the conceptus (being formed by the union of sperm and ovum) cannot be a human person.
The blastocyst is "the early stage in the development of the embryo. The post-morula stage which consists of an inner cell mass and a thin layer of cells enclosing a cavity called the blastocoel. [http://hebron.ee.gannon.edu/~frezza/plae/appendc.html]. It "is one living organism that has two differentiated parts: the temporary but necessary trophoblast formed from the outer cells of the blastocyst and the permanent but still very small inner cell mass. The trophoblast later develops into the placenta, though some of its cells are incorporated into the permanent body." "It is misleading to speak of the inner cell mass as "embryonic," the trophoblast as "extraembryonic," and the two together as "preembryonic." Since the blastocyst is one living organism, and the organism is human, one can deny that it is a human person only by making the faulty distinction between human being and human person. See p. 233.