This is, in fact, a living human at the first cell stage and remains so until the old man dies. It is impossible to draw a line in time and to say that before this time, this was not a living human, and after this, it is. The biologic fact is that from day one, inside and then outside of the uterus, this is one continuous, uninterrupted period of growth and development. Four days later, the embryonic heart begins to beat and three weeks after that, brain waves are measurable. In about three more days, having sent roots into the wall of the uterus, this new human sends a chemical hormonal message into the mother’s blood stream and this stops her menstrual period. At about one week of life, he or she plants within the nutrient lining of the woman’s uterus. During the first week, this tiny new human floats freely down his or her mother’s tube, dividing and sub-dividing as the journey is made. To obtain an embryonic stem cell, the researcher must cut open this embryo, thereby killing him or her and extracting stem cells.Īfter the first day, a number of names apply to various developmental stages of the same living human, fertilized egg or zygote (a single cell), a blastocyst (many cells), embryo, fetus, infant, child, adolescent, etc. During that first day, this is properly termed a “fertilized egg.” However, this single-celled human body divides, divides, and divides again, so that nearing the end of the first week this embryo, now called a “blastocyst,” numbers several hundred cells. Human life begins at the union of sperm and ovum. To understand this we must first review early developmental biology. Accordingly, it is perfectly ethical to proceed with any and all type of stem cell research as long as this is human tissue, but it is completely unethical to do embryonic stem cell research, which of its very nature necessitates the killing of a living human embryo to obtain that stem cell. The first thing to distinguish is the fact that ethically we can experiment on human tissue, but we should not experiment on human beings. Unfortunately, a number of biologic inaccuracies continue to be promulgated and, as a result, have colored decision making for many people. Much has been said and written about “stem cell” research. Planned Parenthood 2015-16 Annual Report.How Planned Parenthood targets minorities (maps).Planned Parenthood Sharpens Minority Focus.Multifaceted Research on Planned Parenthood and Minorities.GRAPHIC PHOTOS: Abortion’s tiniest victims.Environmental Groups that Support Abortion.