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Embryo: A Defense of Human Life | Hardcover

by Robert P. George (Author), Christopher Tollefsen (Author)

List Price:

$23.95

Binding:

Hardcover

Publisher:

Doubleday

Edition:

1st Edition

Page Count:

256 Pages

Publication Date:

January 08, 2008

Sales Rank:

33,702rd

EDITORIAL REVIEWS

Product Description
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 Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 15 reviews)

An excellent book by Miquel Peguera Poch

5 Stars
July 24, 2009
I found it an excellent work, well written and full of sound and tenable arguments

Embryo by Elena Worlinsky (wilkes-barre pa)

5 Stars
May 21, 2009
This book really helped me defend life in a completely objective way (no religious slant). Good support for research papers!

Valuable Contribution to this Vital Public Topic by rodboomboom (Dearborn, Michigan United States)

5 Stars
May 08, 2009
When does the human being, person, individual begin? This question is vexing our society. Here George and Tollefsen present a coherent answer to this not from religion or theology, but from science, morality and public policy. There is different loci to this issue, the moral, the scientific, the political, which they categorize as: embryo science, embryo technology and embryo ethics. Science and technology do not answer the vital question which is the major thrust of this effort: "guidance in making moral decisions about the treatment of those embryos or of human beings at any developmental stage." They persistently rely upon their conclusion from embryo science that: from "embryologists and developmental biologists, who are collectively responsible for the standard textbooks in their fields, agree in making fertilization, not gastrulation, as the beginning of the human individual." This they summarize in this well put phrase: "the early human embryo is not "a potential human" but a "human with potential". They then proceed to take on all challengers who would deny this human being the right to all the moral rights and protections that we all have from solely from being what we are, a human being. These include such as dualism, utilitarianism, consequentalism, those that would deny that the early human embryo is not a whole individual, etc. They also contend with those who put forward that embryonic stem cells are equivalent to embryos and make the important point that the early human embryo has everything it needs inside itself to come to development as a human being if protected and allowed to develop. Their arguments seem well conceived and the repute they offer to their challengers strikes this reviewer initially as significant. I wait however to review the continuing debate between the sides. This civility in reaching public policy the authors correctly state is the overarching impetus for this book's being published. I appreciate they do not enter into any theological argumentation, although this certainly is near and dear to many of us. That they can provide this coherent and captivating argument above all others must be dealt with by the opposition in public forum avenues. Anyone interested at all in this controversial area with any amount of open mindedness will want to read this finely crafted effort. They conclude by placing forward three major proposals for each of three areas, i.e. Technological, Cultural and Political.

Robert J. Fallon by Robert J. Fallon (Brooklyn, New York)

5 Stars
December 26, 2008
An excellent, timely and user friendly review and debate resourse for those who wish to be articulate and well informed defenders of life.

Fantastic by Cecilia Portilla

5 Stars
December 19, 2008
Thorough presentation of Embryology, Developmental Biology, and the arguments for and against viewing an embryo as a human life. Would recommend it for anyone interested in enlightenment on the issues and arguments.

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