Hi,
 I read that the "pro-life" people claim that "life begin at conception".
 A doctor in Chicago (Dr. Dick Seed !) plans to clone children for 
 infertile people.

 When does "life begin" for a clone?


Theodore M. Seeber" <seebert@teleport.com>:
>When all of the DNA has been mixed.
>BTW, this isn't cloning, DNA comes from both parents.

>Ted   http://www.teleport.com/~seebert

Hi,
Mixed? Mixed with what? All of the DNA in a clone comes from the
same person: the only "parent". The clone is an identical twin, a
generation (more or less) removed.

Every cell in your body is (potentially) another human being. In fact,
if you believe that "life begins at conception" every cell IS a "human
being".


REPLY 2:

Someone (sorry, I missed the name) suggested "when the nucleus is 
inserted into to host egg".

Hi,
Your answer shows the arbitrariness of the various opinions as
to when "life begins". You are probably correct that most of
the "at conception" crowd would opt for "when it LOOKS like a
recently fertilized egg". But since there was no conception, 
that would be based on appearance only.

To review briefly the various opinions that I have heard (and
I stress OPINIONS not theories, since there is no experiment
that can resolve the issue: it is in the same class of question
as "how many angels can dance on the head of a pin"),
and in chronological order:

* About 3 billion years ago, at least on earth. We are all descended
from the first primitive live cells. Both the sperm and egg cells
we were formed from were both human and alive (= human life)
BEFORE conception, etc back to the first human, before that back to
the original living cell.

* At conception. The sperm and egg that I came from were "human life"
but they were not ME, until conception.

* At implantation.  Most fertilized egg cells fail to implant. Are
we to claim that most "babies" die before the mother even knows that
they existed?

* When brain activity begins (at 20 some weeks after conception). It
is the brain that relates to thought and makes us human. This was
the view expressed by Carl Sagan.

* At birth. Both the Bible and every human society use this date.
(see my web page file on ABORTION in the political section for
a review of the what the Bible has to say on all this.)

* The "age of reason", about 4 or 5 years, for most, but depends on 
the individual. (Some never get there). Many societies don't consider
infants to be "people".

* At puberty. Many societies have a ritual to welcome people into
the society at this age.

* At 18 years after birth. Then they can drink, vote and sign
contracts.

* At 21. Same as above.

Now of all of the above opinions, none need be changed for a clone
EXCEPT "at conception". That step does not happen, so the advocates
of that opinion need to find another answer for the clone.

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