"Human Embryo in the Pre-Implantation Phase"

Communiqué From Pontifical Academy for Life

VATICAN CITY, MAY 1, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The 12th General Assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life issued this final communiqué March 23 after the international congress on "The Human Embryo in the Pre-Implantation Phase."

As I read this report I was reminded of "Joe", a self professed "progressive/liberal" Catholic who has been so vocal in his comments in the recent past about "when life really begins"...Perhaps, he and others, most especially those promoting the gravely immoral embryonic stem cell research initiative, will find some edifying clarifications in the article, such as this gem:

Human life begins at conception

2. Consequently, in light of the most recent discoveries of embryology, it is possible to establish certain universally recognized points:

a) The moment the sperm penetrates the oocyte is when the existence of a new "human being" begins. Fertilization induces a whole series of consecutive events and transforms the egg cell into a "zygote." In the human species, the nucleus of the spermatozoid (contained in the head) and a centriole (which will play a determining role in the formation of the mitotic fusus in the act of the first cellular division) enter the oocyte; the plasmatic membrane remains on the outside. The male nucleus undergoes profound biochemical and structural changes that depend on the ovular cytoplasm in preparation for the role that the male genome will immediately begin to play. Here we are witnessing the decondensation of the chromatin (induced by factors synthesized in the final phases of ovogenesis) that makes transcription of the paternal genes possible...

and this:

Is the embryo already a person?

It can be concluded from this data that the human embryo in the phase of pre-implantation is already: a) a being of the human species; b) an individual being; c) a being that possesses in itself the finality to develop as a human person together with the intrinsic capacity to achieve such development.

From all this may one conclude that the human embryo in the pre-implantation stage is really already a "person"? It is obvious that since this is a philosophical interpretation, the answer to this question cannot be of a "definite kind," but must remain open, in any case, to further considerations.

Yet, on the precise basis of the available biological data, we maintain that there is no significant reason to deny that the embryo is already a person in this phase.

As I said, this article is quite interesting and may be a means of enlightenment for those who may have questions regarding this subject...

The complete article is here.