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Embryo: A Defense of Human Life
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 174.2
EAN: 9780385522823
Edition: 1
ISBN: 0385522827
Label: Doubleday
Manufacturer: Doubleday
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 256
Publication Date: January 08, 2008
Publisher: Doubleday
Release Date: January 08, 2008
Studio: Doubleday
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Editorial Review:The bitter national debates over abortion, euthanasia, and stem cell research have created an unbridgeable gap between religious groups and those who insist that faith-based views have no place in public policy. Religious conservatives are so adamantly opposed to stem cell research in particular that President Bush issued the first veto of his presidency over a bill that would have provided federal funding for such research.Now, in this timely consideration of the nature and rights of human embryos, Robert P. George and Christopher Tollefsen make a persuasive case that we as a society should neither condone nor publicly fund embryonic stem cell research of any kind.Typically, right-to-life arguments have been based explicitly on moral and religious grounds. In Embryo, the authors eschew religious arguments and make a purely scientific and philosophical case that the fetus, from the instant of conception, is a human being, with all the moral and political rights inherent in that status. As such, stem cell research that destroys a viable embryo represents the unacceptable taking of a human life.There is also no room in their view for a “moral dualism” that regards being a “person” as merely a stage in a human life span. An embryo does not exist in a “prepersonal” stage that does not merit the inviolable rights otherwise ascribed to persons. Instead, the authors argue, the right not to be intentionally killed is inherent in the fact of being a human being, and that status begins at the moment of conception.Moreover, just as none should be excluded from moral and legal protections based on race, sex, religion, or ethnicity, none should be excluded on the basis of age, size, or stage of biological development.George and Tollefsen fearlessly grapple with the political, scientific, and cultural consequences arising from their position and offer a summary of scientific alternatives to embryonic stem cell research. They conclude that the state has an ethical and moral obligation to protect embryonic human beings in just the same manner that it protects every other human being, and they advocate for embryo adoption—the only ethical solution to the problem of spare embryos resulting from in-vitro fertilization.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Sad to think trees were cut down to make this.
This book by one of President George W. Bush's ethics advisors and an associate professor at the University of South Carolina claims to prove "scientifically" that life begins at conception.It is a screed against the use of human embryos for scientific experimentation. Although it doesn't explicitly deal with abortion, it can also be seen as an addition to the blizzard of "pro-life" material we've seen in recent years.
The book is written in a patronizing, pseudo-academic style. Although ... Read More
Rating:  - A great resource
In this important volume two philosophers with interests in bioethics and law make the case for the moral worth of the human embryo from non-religious grounds. The case instead is made with a combination of science (biology, embryology, genetics) and moral philosophy.
Thus this book covers a wide range of topics, and deals with the various technologies that threaten the human embryo, from abortion to cloning and embryonic stem cell research. Much of the discussion focuses on the scientific ... Read More
Rating: - Excellent and comprehensive book
This is an excellent book that presents the science of what an embryo is, the science of early life, and the science involved in the procedures to extract pluripotent stem cells. Additionally, the book covers the science behind SCNT and the semantics involved in trying to erroneously distinguish between reproductive and so-called "therapeutic" cloning. The book tackles all of the ethical arguments that seek to argue against the humanity (which science confirms that the embryo is a human being) and the personhood ... Read More
Rating: - The Book Misrepresents an Emotive Issue - the real debate it addresses has never been about "embryonic personhood"
This book is one more tool in the armory of the anti-contraception anti-feminism movement, and this is its main flaw. It is a fallacy to represent the pro-choice position as one that is unconcerned with the potential person that an embryo represents. The question is HOW best to protect unwanted "pre-persons."
The anti-choice lobby are not really interested in protecting these 'pre-persons' from death. If they were, they would recommend the widespread use of contraceptives. Preventing unwanted pregnancies ... Read More
Rating: - very good articulation
Very good articulation of the arguments against human embryonic stem cell research - from both biological and philosophical perspectives.
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