If a blastocyst IS human...

[ck4829]

then if I get a throat swab from a doctor, is the tissue that he/she collects, can that also be considered a human being?

[rkc3]

1. As long as it contains more than 16 cells.

[thereismore]

2. well, right now there is no way that the collected cells will

develop into a human. They are already diferentiated and are on a one-way dead-end street, so to speak. A blastocyst, if it gets fused with the uterine wall, will become a human. It is programmed for it.
Whether the blastocyst in a Petri dish is a human is debatable.

[madrchsod]

3. therefor i am 9 months older

than my present age.no wonder i feel old-

[rocktivity]

4. You've made me think of a British murder mystery I saw

in which the victims had witnessed the birth of a racehorse on New Year's Eve. The horse was ineligible to run in a big race that the owner needed to cash in on because the rules said that horses are considered a year old when they're born.

:headbang:
rocknation

[Horse with no Name]

8. Actually there is a little more to that

Just an FYI...any horse born before January 1 is considered a yearling, regardless of if it is only a month old...which is why they breed the horses to give birth as close to January 1 as possible to give the best advantage (important in showing and racing horses). As they get older it is easy to check their teeth and determine their age, of course except in race horses where they pull their teeth making their ages indeterminable.
Sometimes they oopsy daisy and foal shortly before the 1st (but this is never disclosed)--generally not such a big deal...except as in this case, it was witnessed.:)
What a great plot.

[mark11727]

5. In THAT case, I want my "blastocyst birthday" presents in JULY...!

Since my "grownup birthday" is in APRIL...!

[jane_pippin]

14. LOL I like this idea!

My Blastocyst Birthday is in summer! Hooray!

[Dead_Parrot]

21. Argh! No!

I'm only just getting over hitting 35, and now you tell me I'm about to hit 36?
No wonder I can't party like I used to...

[kskiska]

25. When will we begin calculating ages from the moment of conception?

We might as well begin issuing Social Security numbers then, too, and also draft registration, bank accounts, insurance policies, and on and on and on.

[damntexdem]

6. That's not a blastocyst. However, think on these questions:

1. Is a blastocyst that will diverge into twins already two humans?
2. Are two blastocysts that will merge into a chimera really one human?

[madinmaryland]

7. I thought that was what kept oxyrush out of the service.

[slackmaster]

9. Anti-abortion extremists' view is based on presence of a soul

A dimensionless and therefore non-falsifiable spiritual entity that makes each individual unique and special in the eyes of God.

[kenny blankenship]

10. Exactly.

Consciousness? Memory? 16 cells? Uterine wall?
None of this means anything in the anti-abortion argument, which is 99.9999% of the time coming from an identifiable religious party or person.
They believe in the life after death. That means they believe in a soul , that is the eternal essence of that person which has no necessary relationship to its body, or even to matter or even scientifically observable forms of energy.

As a bit of an afterthought, this doctrine implies the presence of the same soul at the moment when sperm fertilizes egg.

People seeking a reasonable discussion about abortion with anti-abortion advocates will always be disappointed because the other side comes into the debate with a universe of assumptions that they won't allow you to question--or they'll charge you with hostility to religion--and that cannot be tested in any way known to science or logic.

[DanCa]

11. I just miss the days when you needed a license to practice medicine.

It's amazing that the anti choice can get behind the wheel of a car.

[Norquist Nemesis]

12. A better question is how far can it be taken?

Now that pharmacists can refuse to dispense birth control on the basis of their religious beliefs, will doctors some day step forward and refuse to perform tubal ligations under the same justification? At what point will it become mandatory for a woman to show up at a clinic or her doctor's office because she is ovulating and to not attempt pregnancy is destroying potential human life?

There's always an extreme that things can be taken to. And the anti-abortion crowd will always choose the next extreme position in an effort to control.

[electron_blue]

15. FYI, if you want a tubal ligation no doctor at our hospital will do it

and you have to drive 60 miles away to have it done. Yep, it's against their conscience.

[Norquist Nemesis]

17. Really????

You're kidding! Where 'bouts are you?

:wow:

[electron_blue]

27. central Minnesota

It's a Catholic hospital, but the only game in town.

[nini]

13. Is it fertilized?

:evilgrin:

[HereSince1628]

16. It doesn't matter if the blastocyst is human. SCOTUS ruled

that it isn't a person with rights under federal law.

It was part of the decision in Roe v. Wade.

With respect to your throat swab, argument, it fails because the biological comparison is absurd. (I use "absurd" carefully and mean it in a strictly rhetorical way).

[Warren DeMontague]

18. Here's a link for you:

http://www.geocities.com/preconceivedbabies/

;)

[mark11727]

19. Great googly-moogly --- PLEASE tell me that was a parody site!

[Warren DeMontague]

26. Yes

but not so far from where we're at, today.

[bloom]

22. Oh no - something else to worry about...

"post-preconceived baby death trauma syndrome"

http://www.geocities.com/preconceivedbabies/trauma.html




That's pretty funny. :)

[Warren DeMontague]

23. Their blindness when it comes to spermatazooan rights has been

noted, however.

[bloom]

24. I noticed that as well... eom

[Cleita]

20. We shed human cells all the time. It's a little different than

being human. Human cells vs. human beings. Ponder that for awhile.

[MisterP]

28. pondering is for atheists and abortionists!