The last question is, "when does a human person begin?"29 As with public policy, any philosophical analysis of personhood must begin with and be based on the correct scientific facts. This is required for philosophical realism. Further, a thing acts or functions according to the kind of nature it has - or what it is. If a "human being" is a "rational animal"; if the term "rational" must include virtually the vegetative and sensitive powers; if all of its powers must be present together simultaneously with the body, with no splits - then personhood must begin when the human being begins - at fertilization (or cloning) - when the "matter" is already "appropriately organized". This actually matches the correct science: immediately at fertilization or cloning, specifically human enzymes and proteins are produced, and specifically human tissues and organs are continuously developed from fertilization or cloning on. Personhood, then, should be based on what something is, not on how one actually thinks or feels (merely functional definitions of a human person).
Yet other philosophical answers have been offered - based essentially on functionalism and on bioethics' rendition of philosophical rationalism or empiricism.30 The question must be, do those arguments for "delayed" personhood square with or match the correct scientific facts; are they based on historically correct philosophical claims, or even philosophical claims which are theoretically or practically defensible, or logically valid and sound? Where does this bioethics logic take us? I and many others have demonstrated that these arguments have consistently and extensively used incorrect science, do not match the correct scientific facts, and are often historically inaccurate and philosophically indefensible (e.g., contain a mind/body split). In fact, none of the conclusions of these arguments even follow logically from their major and minor premises. It would seem that philosophical, theological or purely political presuppositions have been imposed on the scientific data. And if the true scientific data does not match, then it is simply changed accordingly.
Of equal concern is where we would end up as a society if that bioethics logic is pushed. If either "sentience" (the ability to feel pain and pleasure) or "rational attributes" (willing, choosing, loving, self-consciousness, the ability to relate to the world around us, etc.) are the rationale for human "personhood", then newborns, young children, Alzheimers and Parkinson patients, alcoholics, drug addicts, street people, runaways, the mentally ill and retarded, the depressed, the frail elderly, comatose patients, paraplegics and other patients with paralysis, patients in a persistent vegetative state - perhaps even teen-agers or politicians - (to name but a few) are not "persons" either, and thus, by the same logic, could be "disposed of" or experimented on at will. Indeed, the Australian philosopher Peter Singer (whose book, oddly enough, was the only reference used to ground the N.I.H. Human Embryo Research Panel's scientific charts) has used such arguments to justify the infanticide of normal healthy infants (because they do not exercise high levels of "rational attributes" or "sentience" - yet the higher primates, e.g., pigs, dogs, gorillas, etc., do, says Singer, and therefore he claims these animals are "persons").31 Philosopher Richard Frey,32 correctly following Singer's logic, has published that many adult human beings on the above list are not persons because they do not actively exercise "rational attributes" or "sentience"; therefore they should be substituted for the higher primates, e.g., dogs, pigs, gorillas, etc. - who are persons - in destructive experimental research. Norman Fost has argued that anencephalic newborns are "brain dead", and therefore we could take their organs for transplantation while they are alive. He has also argued that the "cognitively impaired" are "brain dead" (and one wonders if that means that their organs can be taken while alive as well). And so the logic goes.
Not only scientists, but also philosophers, theologians and bioethicists must be held to the same degree of accountability for their "expertise", especially when their "theories" on personhood would in any way be used to ground public policy. My guess is that they could never withstand such Congressional scrutiny. Thank you.
1 Because I had only 24 hours notice to write this testimony, I have edited the original summary and written testimony for style, clarity, and the addition of more references. Original copies may be obtained from the Committee: Alan Hill, Legislative Clerk for the Committee on Commerce, 2125 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C, 20515; 202-225-1919. [Back]
2 But see D.N. Irving, Philosophical and Scientific Analysis of the Nature of the Early Human Embryo, (400-page Doctoral dissertation, in Philosophy) (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University, 1991); W.C. Kischer and D.N. Irving, The Human Development Hoax: Time to Tell The Truth! (Clinton Township, MI: Gold Leaf Press, 1995; 2nd ed., 1997, by authors, ALL, distributor) (containing extensive references). In addition to the writers I have referenced infra, for a non-exhaustive list of other articles and writers who basically argue similarly, see (arranged in "rough" categories): Science: D.N. Irving, "Embryo research: A call for closer scrutiny", Linacre Quarterly (July 17, 1994); D.N. Irving, "Scientific and philosophical expertise: an evaluation of the arguments on fetal personhood", Linacre Quarterly (Feb. 1993), 60(1):18-46; D.N. Irving, "The impact of scientific misinformation on other fields: philosophy, theology, biomedical ethics, public policy", Accountability in Research (Feb. 1993), 2(4):243-272; D. Irving, "New Age embryology text books: Implications for fetal research", Linacre Quarterly (1994), 61:42-62; C. Ward Kischer, "In defense of human development", Linacre Quarterly (1992), 59:68-75; Kischer, "Human development and reconsideration of ensoulment", Linacre Quarterly (1993), 60:57-63; Kischer, "A new wave dialectic: The reinvention of human embryology", Linacre Quarterly (1994), 61:66-81; Kischer, "A commentary on the beginning of life: A view from human embryology", Linacre Quarterly (1996), 63:78-88; Kischer, "The big lie in human embryology: The case of the preembryo", Linacre Quarterly (in press); J. Carberry, D.W. Kmiec, "Abortion: How law denies science", Human Life Review (1992), 18:4:105; A. Fisher, "Individuogenesis and a recent book by Fr. Norman Ford", Anthropotes (1991), 2:199; P. McCullagh, The Foetus as Transplant Donor: Scientific, Social and Ethical Perspectives (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1987); E.F. Diamond, "Abortion? NO!", Insight (Feb. 1972), 36-41. Philosophy: W. Quinn, "Abortion: identity and loss", Philosophy and Public Affairs (1984), 13:24-54; B. Brody, "On the humanity of the fetus", in Tom Beauchamp and LeRoy Walters, (eds.), Contemporary Issues in Bioethics (California: Wadsworth, 1978), 229-240; R. Werner, "Abortion: The moral status of the unknown", in Social Theory and Practice (1974), 3:202; R. Wertheimer, "Understanding the abortion argument", Philosophy and Public Affairs (1971), 1:67-95. Science/Philosophy: D. Irving, "Which ethics for science and public policy?", Accountability in Research (1993), 3:77-100; D. Irving, "Quality assurance auditors: How to survive between a rock and a hard place", Quality Assurance: Good Practice, Regulation, and Law (1994), 3(1):33-52; Laura Palazzani, "The nature of the human embryo: Philosophical perspectives", Ethics and Medicine (1996), 12(1):14-17; Antonio Puca, "Ten years on from the Warnock Report: Is the human embryo a 'person'?', Linacre Quarterly (May 1995), 62(2):75-87; Agneta Sutton, "Ten years after the Warnock Report: Is the human neo-conceptus a person?", Linacre Quarterly (May 1995), 62(2):63-74; A. Zimmerman, "I began at the beginning", Linacre Quarterly (1993), 60:86-92; A.A. Howsepian, "Who or what are we?", Review of Metaphysics (March 1992), 45:483-502; S. Heaney, "Aquinas and the presence of the human rational soul in the early human embryo", The Thomist (Jan. 1992), 56(1):19-48; Stephen Schwarz, The Moral Question of Abortion (Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1990), esp. Chapters 6 and 7; S Schwarz and R.K. Tacelli, "Abortion and some philosophers: A critical examination", Public Policy Quarterly (1989), 3:81-98; T. Iglesias, "In vitro fertilization: The major issues", Journal of Medical Ethics (1984), 10:32-37; J. Santamaria, "In vitro fertilization and embryo transfer", in M.N Brumsky, (ed.), Proceedings of the Conference: In Vitro Fertilization: Problems and Possibilities (Clayton, Victoria: Monash Center for Human Bioethics, Clayton, Vic., 1982), 48-53. Science/Philosophy/Theology: Mark Johnson, "Quaestio Disputata: Delayed Hominization; Reflections on some recent Catholic claims for delayed hominization", Theological Studies (1995), 56:743-763; B. Ashley and A. Moraczewski, "Is the biological subject of human rights present from conception?", in P. Cataldo and A. Moraczewski, The Fetal Tissue Issue: Medical and Ethical Aspects (Braintree, MA: The Pope John Center, 1994), Chapter Three; B. Ashley and K. O'Rourke, Ethics of Health Care (2nd ed.) (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1994), 149-151; B. Ashley, "Delayed hominization: Catholic theological perspectives", in R.E. Smith (ed.), The Interaction of Catholic Bioethics and Secular Society (Braintree, MA: The Pope John Center, 1992), esp. 165, 176; A. Regan, "The human conceptus and personhood", Studia Moralis (1992), 30:97-127; W.E. May, "Zygotes, embryos and persons", Ethics and Medics, Part I (Oct. 1991), 16:10; G. Grisez, "When do people begin?", Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association (1990), 63:27-47; T.J. O'Donnell, "A traditional Catholic's view", in P.B. Jung and T. Shannon, Abortion & Catholicism (New York: Crossroad Publishing Co., 1998), 44-47; Benedict Ashley and Kevin O'Rourke, Health Care Ethics: A Theological Analysis (2nd ed.)(St. Louis, MO: Catholic Health Association, 1987), 2-6, 218-233; Jean de Siebenthal, "L'animation selon Thomas d'Aquin: Peut-on affirmer qui l'embryon est d'abord autre chose qu'un homme en s'appuyant sur Thomas d'Aquin?", in L'Embryon: Un Homme: Actes du Congres de Lausanne 1986 (Lausanne: Societe suisse de bioethique, 1986), 91-98; M.A. Taylor, Human Generation in the Thought of Thomas Aquinas: A Case Study on the Role of Biological Fact in Theological Science (Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International, 1982); Benedict Ashley, "A critique of the theory of delayed hominization", in D.G. McCarthy and A.S. Moraczewski, (eds.), An Ethical Evaluation of Fetal Experimentation: An Interdisciplinary Study (St. Louis, MO: Pope John Center, 1976), 113-133; G.C. Grisez, Abortion: The Myths, the Realities and the Arguments (New York: Corpus Books, 1970). International documents: Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, "Instruction on Respect for Human Life in its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation [Donum Vitae]", reprinted in L'Osservatore Romano (Vatican City: 16 March, 1987), 3; Commonwealth of Australia, Senate Select Committee on the Human Embryo Experimentation Bill 1985, (Official Hansard Report), (Canberra: Commonwealth Government Printer, 1986), 25; Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, "On the use of human embryos and foetuses for diagnostic, therapeutic, scientific, industrial and commercial purposes", Recommendation 1046 (1986), 1. [Back]
3 C. Bedate and R. Cefalo, "The zygote: to be or not be a person", Journal of Medicine and Philosophy (1989), 14(6):641. Also J.T. Bole, "Metaphysical accounts of the zygote as a person and the veto power of facts", Journal of Medicine and Philosophy (1989), 14:647-653, and "Zygotes, souls, substances and persons", Journal of Medicine and Philosophy (1990), 15:637-652. [Back]
4 C. Grobstein, The early development of human embryos", Journal of Medicine and Philosophy (1985), 10:213-236. Also R. McCormick, "Who or what is the preembryo?", Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, (1991), 1:1-15. [Back]
5 See D.N. Irving, "Individual testimony before the NIH Human Embryo Research Panel - March 14, 1994", reprinted in Linacre Quarterly (Nov. 1994), 61(4):82-89; D.N. Irving, "Embryo research: A call for closer scrutiny", Linacre Quarterly (July 17, 1994); also, D.N. Irving, "NIH Human Embryo Research Panel revisited: What is wrong with this picture?", Linacre Quarterly (May 2000). [Back]
6 N. Ford, When Did I Begin? (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988), 137, 156. [Back]
7 D.G. Jones, "Brain birth and personal identity", Journal of Medical Ethics (1989), 15:4:173-178; D. MacKay, in Jones 1989; Rahner, Ruff and Haring, in Jones 1989; H. M. Sass, "Brain death and brain life: A proposal for normative agreement", Journal of Medicine and Philosophy (1989), 14:45-59; Singer and Wells, in Jones 1989; C. Tauer, "Personhood and human embryos and fetuses", Journal of Medicine and Philosophy (1985), 10:253-266; M. Lockwood, "Warnock versus Powell (and Harradine): When does potentiality count?", Bioethics (1988), 3:187-213; J. Goldenring, "Development of the fetal brain", New England Journal of Medicine (1982), 307:564, and "The brain-life theory: Towards a consistent biological definition of humanness", Journal of Medical Ethics (1985), 11:198-120; T. Kushner, "Having a life versus being alive", Journal of Medical Ethics (1984), 10:5-8; Gertler, in P. Singer, Practical Ethics (London: Cambridge University Press, 1981); M.V. Bennett, "Personhood from a neuroscientific perspective", in Doerr et al, Abortion Rights and Fetal "Personhood", (Long Beach: Cresline Press,1989). [Back]
8 K.L. Moore, The Developing Human, (Philadelphia, PA: W.B. Saunders Co., 1982). 14; B. Lewin (ed.), Genes III (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1983), 9-13, 386-394, 401; A.E.H. Emery, Elements of Medical Genetics, (New York: Churchill Livingstone, 1983), 19, 93; also obvious from the following research: K. Gordon, et al., "Production of human tissue plasminogen activator in transgenic mouse milk", Bio Technology (1987), 5:1183: T. Weishous, et al., "Secretion of enzymatically active human renin from mammalian cells using an avian retroviral vector", Genes (1986). 45:2:121-129; A. Tanaka and D. Fujita, "Expression of a molecularly cloned human C-SRC oncogene by using a replication-competent retroviral vector", Molecular and Cellular Biology (1986), 6:11:3900-3909; A. Schnieke, et al., "Introduction of the human pro alpha 1 (I) collagen gene into pro alpha 1 (I) - deficient Mov-13 mouse cells leads to formation of functional mouse-human hybrid type I collagen", Proceedings of the National Academy of Science - USA (Feb. 1987), 84:3:764-768; C. Hart C, A. Awgulewitch, et al., "Homeobox gene complex on mouse chromosome II: Molecular cloning, expression in embryogenesis, and homology to a human homeobox locus", Cell (1985), 43:1:9-18; G. Kollias, et al., "The human beta-globulin gene contains a downstream developmental specific enhancer", Nucleic Acids Research (July 1987), 15:14:5739-47; B. Olofsson, V. Pizon, et al., "Structure and expression of the chicken epidermal growth factor receptor gene locus", European Journal of Biochemistry (1986), 160:2:261-266; L. Saez, S. Leinwand, "Characterization of diverse forms of myosin light chain gene: Unexpected interspecies homology with repetitive DNA", Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics (1984), 233:2:565-572; R. Olle, et al., "Structural relation among mouse and human immunoglobulin VH genes in the subgroup III", Nucleic Acids Research (1983), 11:22:7887-97; N. Proudfoot, et al., "The structure of the human zeta-globin gene and a closely linked, nearly identical pseudogene", Cell (1982), 31:32:553-563. [Back]
9 Bruce M. Carlson, Human Embryology and Developmental Biology (St. Louis, MO: Mosby, 1994), p. 31. [Back]
10 William Larsen, Human Embryology (New York: Churchill Livingstone, 1997), 17; Bruce Carlson, Human Embryology and Developmental Biology (St. Louis, MO: Mosby, 1994), 33. [Back]
11 Kollias (1987), note 8, supra; L. Covarrubias, et al., "Cellular DNA rearrangements and early developmental arrest caused by DNA insertion in transgenic mouse embryos", Molecular and Cellular Biology (1987), 7(6):2243-2247; R.K. Humphries, et al., "Transfer of human and murine globin-gene sequences into transgenic mice", American Journal of Human Genetics (1985), 37:2:295-310; J. Khillan, et al., "Tissue-specific, inducible and functional expression of the Ead MHC class II gene in transgenic mice", EMBO Journal (1985), 4(9):2225-30; R. Palmiter, et al., "Cell lineage ablation in transgenic mice by cell-specific expression of a toxin gene", Cell (1985). 43:1:9-18. [Back]
12 K. Moore, The Developing Human (Philadelphia, PA: W.B. Saunders, Co., 1982), 14; B. Lewin, Genes III (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1987), 9-13, 202-203, 681; A.E.H. Emery, Elements of Medical Genetics (New York: Churchill Livingstone, 1983), 93; J. Lejeune, in Martin Palmer (ed.), A Symphony of the Preborn Child: Part Two (Hagerstown, MD: NAAPC, 1989), 9-10, 16-19, 30. [Back]
13 B. Lewin, Genes III (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1987), 11-13, 202-203, 681; A.E.H. Emery, Elements of Medical Genetics (New York: Churchill-Livingstone, 1983), 93. [Back]
14 That differentiation is not caused by the mother and is determined by the embryo: H. Holtzer, et al., "Induction-dependent and lineage-dependent models for cell-diversification are mutually exclusive", Progress in Clinical Biological Research, (1985), 175:3-11; F. Mavilio, A. Sineone, et al., "Differential and stage-related expression in embryonic tissues of a new human homeobox gene, Nature (1986), 324:6098:664-668; C. Hart, et al. (1985), note 8 supra. [Back]
15 Ronan O'Rahilly and Fabiola Muller, Human Embryology & Teratology (New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1994), p. 23. [Back]
16 A.E. Szulmann and U. Surti, "The syndromes of hydatidiform mole. I. Cytogenic and morphologic correlations", American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (1978), 131:665-671; K. Moore, The Developing Human (3rd ed.)(Philadelphia, PA: W.B. Saunders Co., 1982), 30; J. Lejeune, in Martin Palmer (ed.), A Symphony of the Preborn Child: Part Two (Hagerstown, MD: NAAPC, 1989), 19-19; M.S.E. Wimmers, et al., "Chromosome studies on early human embryos fertilized in vitro", Human Reproduction (1988), 7:894-900; S.D. Lawler and R.A. Fisher, "Genetic studies in hydatidiform mole with clinical correlations", Placenta (1987), 8:77-88; G.R. Martin, "Teratocarcinomas and mammalian embryogenesis", Science (1980), 209:768-776; Alberts, et al., Molecular Biology of the Cell (New York: Garland Publishing, 1983). [Back]
17 Ronan O'Rahilly and Fabiola Muller, Human Embryology & Teratology (New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1994), p. 51; William J. Larsen, Human Embryology (New York, Churchill Livingston, 1997), p. 19; Keith Moore, The Developing Human (3rd ed.) (Philadelphia, PA: W.B. Saunders Co., 1982), pp. 33, 62-63, 111, 127; K. Chauda et al, "An embryonic pattern of expression of a human fetal globin gene in transgenic mice", Nature (1986), 319:6055:685-689; G. Migliaccio et al., "Human embryonic hemopoiesis. Kinetics of progenitors and precursor underlying the yolk sac-liver transition", Journal of Clinical Investigation (1986), 78:1:51-60. [Back]
18 Ronan O'Rahilly and Fabiola Muller, Human Embryology & Teratology (New York: John Wiley & sons, Inc., 1994), p. 32; Keith Moore, The Developing Human (3rd ed.) (Philadelphia, PA: W.B. Saunders Co., 1982), p. 133; K. Dawson, in Peter Singer et al., Embryo Experimentation (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990), pp. 43-52. [Back]
19 Ronan O'Rahilly and Fabiola Muller, Human Embryology and Teratology (New York: John Wiley & sons, 1994), ftnt. p. 55. [Back]
20 See D.N. Irving, "Individual testimony before the N.I.H. Human Embryo Research Panel", and "N.I.H. and human embryo research revisited: What is wrong with this picture?", note 2 supra, both republished with permission in the 2nd edition of our book : W.C. Kisher and D.N. Irving, The Human Development Hoax: Time To Tell The Truth!" - copies of which I submitted to this Committee. See also, W.C. Kischer, "In defense of human development", Linacre Quarterly (1992), 59:68-75; Kischer, "Human development and reconsideration of ensoulment", Linacre Quarterly (1993), 60:57-63; Kischer, "A New Wave Dialectic: The reinvention of human embryology", Linacre Quarterly, (1994), 61:66-81; Kischer, "A commentary on the beginning of life: A view from human embryology", Linacre Quarterly (1996), 63:78-88; Kischer, "The big lie in human embryology: The case of the preembryo", Linacre Quarterly (in press). [Back]
21 E.g., see Bruce M. Carlson, Human Embryology and Developmental Biology (St. Louis, MO: Mosby, 1994), p. 3. [Back]
22 Code of Federal Regulations 45CFR46, OPRR Reports, "Protection of Human Subjects". Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health, Office for Protection From Research Risks, 1983 (revised 1989, 1991), p. 12. [Back]
23 See, e.g., Ronan O'Rahilly and Fabiola Muller, Human Embryology & Teratology (New York: Wiley-Liss, 1994, p. 55; Bruce M. Carlson, Human Embryology and Developmental Biology (St. Louis, MO: Mosby, 1994), p. 407. [Back]
24 See D.N. Irving, "New Age human embryology text books ...", Linacre Quarterly (May 1994), 61(2):42-62, submitted to this Committee, in which it is demonstrated that in his 5th edition, Moore virtually incorrectly redefines many of the major human embryology terms. [Back]
25 .. See transcripts and video of the Fidea Ethics in Research Conference, Georgetown University, April 1991, including his answers to my questions to him. [Back]
26 Jones 1989:15;4;173-178. [Back]
27 K. Moore, The Developing Human (Philadelphia, PA: W.B. Saunders, Co., 1982), 1. [Back]
28 Jones 1989:173-178; T. Engelhardt, The Foundations of Bioethics, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1985) 111. [Back]
29 See extensive philosophical references in note 2, supra. [Back]
30 Since I only had 24 hours in which to prepare this testimony for the scientific panel, I have focused primarily on the science and scientific references. However, please see the references in note 2, supra, and several of the other notes, for extensive philosophical references. [Back]
31 Peter Singer, "Taking life: Abortion", in Practical Ethics, (London: Cambridge University Press, 1981), p. 118. [Back]
32 Richard G. Frey, "The ethics of the search for benefits: Animal experimentation in medicine", in Raanan Gillon (ed.), Principles of Health Care Ethics (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1994), pp. 1067-1075. [Back]
1, 2,