Junk Science In, Junk Prolife Out


References:

1 A "pre-embryo substitute" means the use of false scientific "facts" without using the actual term "pre-embryo" in order to claim that there is a "delay" before a human being and/or a human person begins to exist -- i.e., there is just a "bunch of cells" there. See Irving, "'Pre-embryos' and 'Pre-embryo substitutes'": Safeguarding human life 'from the very beginning'"? (June 8, 2009), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_164safeguardinglife.html. See also Irving, -- "'In the womb' and 'conception': Poland's abortion bill, and U.S. federal judge's "science" (June 28, 2011), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_189polandabortionbill.html. [Back]

2 Katie McCann, "The Miracle of Human Development: Life Begins Long Before She's Born" (October 24, 2013), LifeNews.com, at: http://www.lifenews.com/2013/10/24/the-miracle-of-human-development-life-begins-long-before-shes-born/#_ftn4. [Back]

3 See Irving, "The Genuine Carnegie Stages" (September 8, 2013), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_216genuinecarnegiestages.html. Note that because the URLs for these Carnegie Stages were changed in early 2013, the new URLs provided in this article need to be substituted for the old ones in any of my earlier articles. Note too that you can't get any more objective scientific facts of the early developing human embryo than those in the Carnegie Stages, as these scientific facts have been updated continuously since 1942 to the present, and determined by an international committee of 20-24 academically credentialed Ph.D. human embryologists from around the world. [Back]

4 See Irving, "FERTILIZATION and IMPLANTATION of the Early Human Embryo: Accurate Scientific Resources" (May 8, 2013), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_212accurateresources1.html. [Back]

5 See Irving, summary of 400-page doctoral dissertation, Philosophical and Scientific Analysis of the Nature of the Early Human Embryo (Georgetown University 1991), "Philosophical and scientific expertise: An evaluation of the arguments on 'personhood'", Linacre Quarterly February 1993, 60:1:18-46, at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_04person1.html. [Back]

6 In my encyclopedia article, written in 2008, I documented innumerable "scientists", bioethicists, and professional medical and research organizations that explicitly used the false term "pre-embryo" as the "empirical" basis for their projects; see "Bibliography" in Irving, "Human Embryology and Church Teachings" (September 15, 2008), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/em/em_132embryologychurch1.html; also published in The New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2nd ed., Supplement 2009, (Detroit: Gayle), pp. 287-312, as "Embryology, Human"; see http://www.gale.cengage.com/NCE/; also at: http://www.personhood.ca/pdfs/embryology_human.pdf. See also, in their own words: "I'll let you in on a secret. The term pre-embryo has been embraced wholeheartedly by IVF practitioners for reasons that are political, not scientific. The new term is used to provide the illusion that there is something profoundly different between a six-day-old embryo and a sixteen-day-old embryo. The term is useful in the political arena - where decisions are made about whether to allow early embryo experimentation - as well as in the confines of a doctor's office where it can be used to allay moral concerns that might be expressed by IVF patients." [Lee Silver, Remaking Eden: Cloning and Beyond in a Brave New World. (New York: Avon Books, 1997, p. 39)] (emphases added). Also, the same is true for cloned embryos: "To claim that an embryo produced by cloning is not really an embryo, in order to justify destructive research, is arbitrary and "self-serving," says embryologist Jonathan Van Blerkom of the University of Colorado. (Cited in Diane Gianelli, "Congress Weighs Ban on Cloning," American Medical News, February 23, 1998.) [Back]

7 Quoting one of the founders of the Carnegie Stages, Swiss human embryologist Ronan O'Rahilly: "The term 'pre-embryo' is not used here for the following reasons: (1) it is ill-defined because it is said to end with the appearance of the primitive streak or to include neurulation; (2) it is inaccurate because purely embryonic cells can already be distinguished after a few days, as can also the embryonic (not pre-embryonic!) disc; (3) it is unjustified because the accepted meaning of the word embryo includes all of the first 8 weeks; (4) it is equivocal because it may convey the erroneous idea that a new human organism is formed at only some considerable time after fertilization; and (5) it was [used] in 1986 'largely for public policy reasons' (Biggers).... Just as postnatal age begins at birth, prenatal age begins at fertilization." (O'Rahilly and Muller 2001, p. 88)... The ill-defined and inaccurate term pre-embryo, which includes the embryonic disc, is said either to end with the appearance of the primitive streak or to include neurulation. The term is not used in this book.. (O'Rahilly and Muller 1994, p. 55)... The term conception, however, may refer either to fertilization or to implantation and hence (like gestation) is best avoided." (O'Rahilly and Muller 2001, p. 19). (emphases added). The most recent rejection of the term "pre-embryo" by the (FIPAT) is complicated to find, but go to FIPAT, the internationalTerminologia Embryologica Committee, at: http://www.unifr.ch/ifaa/. Click on "Free access to published terminologies", "Enter" to get to: http://www.unifr.ch/ifaa/Public/EntryPage/HomePublic.html. You are now on the Public Entry Page; Click into "Source terminologies as originally published", to get to: http://www.unifr.ch/ifaa/Public/EntryPage/ViewSource.html. This page lists the 3 Terminologias. To the right of the page, under "Terminologia Embryologica, from internal document (2009)", click onto e2.0: "Ontogeny" in order to get to: http://www.unifr.ch/ifaa/Public/EntryPage/ViewTE/TEe02.html. You are now viewing "Page 8". This is a bit tricky: Now use button-arrows at top right of web page to move to Page 10 to arrive at the description of Carnegie Stages 1-5 in the Chart. The right side of the Chart provides the following documentation of the first 5 Stages; see especially "Single cell EMBRYO [St. 1] [["Stage One"]]. At the bottom of Page 10, in a footnote, you can find their rejection of the false scientific term "pre-embryo": Footnote #32 E2.0.1.2.0.0.3 Embryo praegastrulationis [St. 1 ad 6a] "The term 'pregastrulation embryo' is useful because such an embryo has distinctive attributes (see footnote 35). The foreshortened term 'pre-embryo', which has been used in legal and clinical contexts, is not recommended." [[Note: "St. 1 ad 6a" means "Stages 1 to 6a"]]. [Back]

8 See Irving,: "Personhood 'Language' 2008 - 2011" (October 2, 2011), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_192personhoodlanguage.html; also Irving, "Analysis: Stearns' Congressional Human Cloning Fairy Tale 'Ban'; New Age and Transhumanist Legislation for 'Converging Technologies'?" (Sept. 8, 2004), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_77stearncloningtale1.html. [Back]

9 See Irving, "Why Accurate Human Embryology Is Needed To Evaluate Current Trends In Research Involving Stem Cells, Genetic Engineering, Synthetic Biology and Nanotechnology" (November 20, 2012), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_206accuratehumanembryology1.html; see also Irving, "Any Human Cell - iPS, Direct Programmed, Embryonic, Fetal or Adult - Can Be Genetically Engineered to Asexually Reproduce New Human Embryos for Purposes of Reproduction ('Infertility')" (i.e., for purposes of implanting them into women) (November 2011), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_194cellasexuallyreproduce1.html. [Back]

10 See Irving, "What is 'bioethics'?" (June 3, 2000), UFL Proceedings of the Conference 2000, in Joseph W. Koterski (ed.), Life and Learning X: Proceedings of the Tenth University Faculty For Life Conference (Washington, D.C.: University Faculty For Life, 2002), pp. 1-84, at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_36whatisbioethics01.html. See also Irving, "The bioethics mess", Crisis Magazine, Vol. 19, No. 5, May 2001, at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_37bioethicsmess.html; "Which ethics for the 21st century? A comparison of 'secular bioethics' and Roman Catholic medical ethics" (March 14, 1999), Linacre Quarterly (in press), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_02ethics1.html; "Which ethics for science and public policy?", Accountability in Research 1993, 3(2-3):77-99, at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_42whichethics1.html. [Back]

11 See Irving, "A One-Act Play: 'Crippled Consciences and the Human Embryo'" (November 17, 2010), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_178one-act-play1.html; also at: http://www.issues4life.org/pdfs/aoneactplay.pdf; "Abortifacients and the Role of Correct Science in Counseling, the Formation of Conscience, and Moral Decision Making" (April 12, 2009), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_140correctscience1.html; "Abortion: Correct application of natural law theory", Linacre Quarterly (Feb. 2000), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_08natlaw.html; "The woman and the physician facing abortion: The role of correct science in the formation of conscience and the moral decision making process", ["Is the 'morning after' pill possibly abortifacient?"], presented at "The Scientific Congress, The Guadalupan Appeal: The dignity and status of the human embryo", Mexico City, October 28-29, 1999; published in Un Appello Per La Vita: The Guadalupan Appeal: Dignita E Statuto Dell'embryione Umano (Libreria Editrice Vaticana (2000), pp. 203-223; also in, Linacre Quarterly Nov./Dec. 2000), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_03facing1.html; "The impact of international bioethics on the 'sanctity of life ethic', and the ability of Catholic ObGyn's to practice according to conscience"; presented at the international conference, "The Future of Obstetrics and Gynaecology: The Fundamental Human Right to Practice and Be Trained According to Conscience"; sponsored by the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations (FIAMC), and MaterCare International, Rome, Italy, June 18, 2001, Proceedings of the Conference, at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_40bioandconscience01.html; "Conception" is not "The Immaculate Conception" (January 26, 2013), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_209immaculateconception1.html; "'Revival' of St. Thomas' Philosophy - Yes, But Not His Erroneous 'Delayed Personhood' Argument; Concerns for Beginning and End of Life Issues" (April 4, 2011), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_185revival.st.thomas1.html; "Problems with the phrase, 'from conception/fertilization to natural death'" (Aug. 8, 2007), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irvi/irvi_67coloradoinitiative.html. [Back]

12 From the BabyCenter's website: "Expert Advice: BabyCenter® -- the #1 pregnancy and parenting web and mobile destination worldwide -- reaches 34 million moms globally with our 14 different locally owned and operated sites in 11 different languages. We reach 1 out of 5 new and expecting moms online globally. In the United States, 7 in 10 babies born last year were BabyCenter babies. BabyCenter is also the most recommended and most trusted pregnancy and parenting website among moms. BabyCenter is the world's partner in parenting, providing moms with trusted advice from experts around the globe, friendship with other moms, and support that is remarkably right at every stage of her child's development. We understand that every family is different, and we give parents the information they need to make decisions that are right for them. Our goal is to help parents gain confidence, enjoy parenting more, and let go of some of the guilt and worry that comes with raising a child.... ", at: http://www.babycenter.com/help-about-company. [Back]

13 See also, Irving, "American Medical Association's N'arrow Definitions', Legal "'Re-definitions'"... and Reproductive Cloning" (October 9, 2009), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_170ama1.html; Irving and Kischer, "Responses to Dr. Condic's 'Science' in National Catholic Register Interview" (January 6, 2010), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_172responsetocondic.html; "Condic's 'Pre-Zygote' Error in 'When Does Human Life Begin?'" (November 18, 2008), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_134maureencondic1.html; Irving, "Plan B's Manufacturer: Pills Can Be Abortifacient" (April 27, 2013), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_211manufacturerandpills.html; "Catholic Bioethicist Calls To End Ban on Reproductive Cloning" (Sept. 25, 2011), at: http://lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_193reproductivecloning.html; "'Revival' of St. Thomas' Philosophy - Yes, But Not His Erroneous 'Delayed Personhood' Argument; Concerns for Beginning and End of Life Issues" (April 4, 2011), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_185revival.st.thomas1.html; "Open Letter to U.S. Catholic Church Hierarchy on Human Cloning and Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research" (February 20, 2004), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_46openletter.html, that included my article, "Playing God by manipulating man: Facts and frauds of human cloning" (October 4, 2003), presented twice at the Missouri Catholic Conference Annual Assembly Workshop, Jefferson City, MO, at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_22manipulatingman1.html; "Open communication to participants of the CBHD/NCCB Bioethics Stem Cell Coalition: Setting the record straight re Drs. Furton and Matthews-Roth's NCBC website 'response' to their stem cell research article" (Nov. 1999), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_71recordstraight1.html; "Irving response to Dr. John Haas' Book Review of: Kischer/Irving, The Human Development Hoax: Time To Tell The Truth!" (Nov. 18, 1995), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_73haasbookreview.html. [Back]

14 For extensive direct quotes from accurate human embryology and human molecular sources explaining asexual human reproduction, see Irving, "Why Accurate Human Embryology Is Needed To Evaluate Current Trends In Research Involving Stem Cells, Genetic Engineering, Synthetic Biology and Nanotechnology" (November 20, 2012), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_206accuratehumanembryology1.html; see also Irving, "Any Human Cell - iPS, Direct Programmed, Embryonic, Fetal or Adult - Can Be Genetically Engineered to Asexually Reproduce New Human Embryos for Purposes of Reproduction ('Infertility')" (November 2011), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_194cellasexuallyreproduce1.html. For explanations and documentation of in vivo asexual human reproduction (monozygotic identical "twinning"), see Carnegie Stages 2-5 online: STAGE 2: http://www.medicalmuseum.mil/assets/documents/collections/hdac/stage02.pdf; STAGE 3: http://www.medicalmuseum.mil/assets/documents/collections/hdac/stage03.pdf; STAGE 4: http://www.medicalmuseum.mil/assets/documents/collections/hdac/stage04.pdf STAGE 5: http://www.medicalmuseum.mil/assets/documents/collections/hdac/stage05.pdf. [Back]

15 In normal human sexual reproduction, fertilization never takes place in the uterus; it takes place in the woman's fallopian tube: Geoffrey Sher, Virginia Marriage Davis, Jean Stoess, In Vitro Fertilization: The A.R.T. of Making Babies (New York: Facts On File, 1998): "The moment a sperm penetrates the egg's zona pellucida, a reaction in the egg fuses the zona and the perivitelline membrane into an impermeable shield that prevents other sperm from entering.... Propelled by contractions of the fallopian tube, the dividing embryo begins its three- or four-day journey back to the uterus and continues to divide after it reaches the uterus. (The fertilization process occurs near the middle of the fallopian tube -- not in the uterus.)" (p. 18).

Bruce M. Carlson, Human Embryology and Developmental Biology (St. Louis, MO: Mosby, 1994): "Human pregnancy begins with the fusion of an egg and a sperm. (p. 3);... finally, the fertilized egg, now properly called an embryo, must make its way into the uterus" (p. 3). Bruce M. Carlson, Human Embryology & Developmental Biology (St. Louis, MO: Mosby, 1999): "Human pregnancy begins with the fusion of an egg and a sperm, but a great deal of preparation precedes this event. First both male and female sex cells must pass through a long series of changes (gametogenesis) that convert them genetically and phenotypically into mature gametes, which are capable of participating in the process of fertilization. Next, the gametes must be released from the gonads and make their way to the upper part of the uterine tube, where fertilization normally takes place.... Finally, the fertilized egg, now properly called an embryo, must make its way into the uterus... (p. 2);... Fertilization age: dates the age of the embryo from the time of fertilization. (p. 23)... In the female, sperm transport begins in the upper vagina and ends in the ampulla of the uterine tube [fallopian tube] where the spermatozoa make contact with the ovulated egg." (p. 27).

Ronan O'Rahilly and Fabiola Muller, Human Embryology & Teratology (New York: Wiley-Liss, 1994): "Fertilization is an important landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new, genetically distinct human organism is thereby formed. (p. 5);... Fertilization is the procession of events that begins when a spermatozoon makes contact with a secondary oocyte or its investments... (p. 19); The embryo enters the uterine cavity after half a week,.... " (p. 23)

Ronan O'Rahilly and Fabiola Muller, Human Embryology & Teratology (3rd ed.) (New York: Wiley-Liss, 2001): "Fertilization is the procession of events that begins when a spermatozoon makes contact with a secondary oocyte or its investments, and ends with the intermingling of maternal and paternal chromosomes at metaphase of the first mitotic division of the zygote.... Fertilization takes place normally in the ampulla (lateral end) of the uterine tube." (p. 31).

-- Carnegie Stages of Early Human Embryonic Development, Stage 1a,b.and c, at http://www.medicalmuseum.mil/assets/documents/collections/hdac/stage01.pdf: "Stage 1 is the unicellular embryo that contains unique genetic material and is an individually specific cell that has the potential to develop into all of the subsequent stages of a human being. It is the beginning of embryonic life and ontogenetic development that starts when an oocyte, arrested in metaphase of meiosis II, is penetrated by a sperm. This is the first event of fertilization.

"... Fertilization is a series of events that begins when a sperm makes contact with an oocyte and ends with the intermingling of paternal (male) and maternal (female) chromosomes on the spindle at metaphase of the first mitotic division of the single cell. The events of fertilization require just over 24 hrs. to complete and normally takes place in the ampulla of the uterine tube [i.e., the fallopian tube, not the uterus or "womb"].

"... Stage 1 is divided into three substages; a, b and c. Stage 1a is referred to as the primordial embryo since all the genetic material necessary for the new individual, plus some redundant chromosomes, is now within a single plasma lemma (cell membrane). [Note: all of the components define the "embryo", not just the genes; and these components must work in sync with each other, thus themselves pre-determining the final coding of the genome - which itself can change from internal and external causes during early development. The human genome is defined as including all the DNA in a cell -- both nuclear and mitochondrial -- not just the nuclear.] From the perspective of the female gamete it has also been named the penetrated oocyte. The fertilizing sperm has passed through the zona (capsula) pellucida and its plasmalemma has fused with that of the oocyte.

"... Penetration activates the embryo into resuming its arrested meiosis II and after anaphase it enters telophase with the expulsion of the redundant chromosomes as a second polar body. This marks the beginning of Stage 1b in which the single-cell is referred to as the pronuclear embryo. From the perspective of the female gamete it has also been named the ootid because its female component is haploid like a spermatid. However, in the pronuclear embryo there are two separate haploid components: one maternal, or female, pronucleus and one paternal, or male, pronucleus.

"... The pronuclei move toward each other and eventually compress their envelopes where they lie adjacent near the center of the cell. Stage 1c is the last phase of fertilization and exists for a relatively short period. The pronuclear envelopes disappear and the parental chromosomes that were contained in separate pronuclei come together in a process called syngamy... The one-cell Stage 1c embryo is named the syngamic embryo or zygote. [The zygote has no nucleus]. The chromosomes assume positions on the rapidly formed first mitotic spindle in preparation for cleavage.

" -- See Chart of all 23 Stages of the early developing human embryo, at: http://www.medicalmuseum.mil/index.cfm?p=collections.hdac.anatomy.index. Click into the "textbook" at the bottom left side of the screen to access more extensive details of each stage and the extensive scientific references.

-- See also The Virtual Human Embryo, Stage 1, at: http://virtualhumanembryo.lsuhsc.edu/demos/Stage1/Intro_pg/Intro.htm

-- See also iPhone app, from the National Library of Medicine, at: http://apps.usa.gov/embryo/. [Back]

16 See Irving, "Plan B's Manufacturer: Pills Can Be Abortifacient" (April 27, 2013), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_211manufacturerandpills.html; also Irving, "FERTILIZATION and IMPLANTATION of the Early Human Embryo: Accurate Scientific Resources" (May 8, 2013), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_212accurateresources1.html. [Back]

17 See Irving, "Why Accurate Human Embryology Is Needed To Evaluate Current Trends In Research Involving Stem Cells, Genetic Engineering, Synthetic Biology and Nanotechnology" (November 20, 2012), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_206accuratehumanembryology1.html; see also Irving, "Any Human Cell - iPS, Direct Programmed, Embryonic, Fetal or Adult - Can Be Genetically Engineered to Asexually Reproduce New Human Embryos for Purposes of Reproduction ('Infertility')" (November 2011), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_194cellasexuallyreproduce1.html. [Back]

18 See Irving, "Letter to Jerome Lejeune Re Term 'Pre-Embryo'" (Aug. 1993), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_57letter_lejeune.html. [Back]

19 E.g., Ronan O'Rahilly and Fabiola Muller, Human Embryology & Teratology (New York: Wiley-Liss, 1994): "... The term conception, however, may refer either to fertilization or to implantation and hence (like gestation) is best avoided." (pg. 19). [Back]

20 See Irving, "Problems with the phrase, 'from conception/fertilization to natural death'" (Aug. 8, 2007), at: www.lifeissues.net/writers/irvi/irvi_67coloradoinitiative.html; "'Conception' is not 'The Immaculate Conception'" (January 26, 2013), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_209immaculateconception1.html; "Disagreement with this 'Thomistic' definition of "person" (December 30, 2012), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_207disagreementperson.html; "Neither, Nor: Bryne's and Willke's Pseudo-Battle Over Human Embryonic Stem Cells" (June 19, 2008), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_129bryneandwillke.html; Comments: "Colorado Right To Life 'Personhood' Amendment, and Problems With 'From Conception to Natural Death'" (December 18, 2007), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irvi/irvi_67coloradoinitiative.html; "Human Embryology and Church Teachings" (September 15, 2008), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/em/em_132embryologychurch1.html; also published in The New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2nd ed., Supplement 2009, (Detroit: Gayle), pp. 287-312, as "Embryology, Human"; see http://www.gale.cengage.com/NCE/; also at: http://www.personhood.ca/pdfs/embryology_human.pdf. [Back]

21 See, for example, the role that the natural biological process of "regulation" and "methylation" play in causing asexually reproduced human beings to begin to exist without the use of fertilization (used to manipulate the "epigenetics" of the DNA in the chromosomes of mere "cells"): NIH GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCH USING HUMAN PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS: If these cells separate, genetically identical embryos result, the basis of identical twinning. (p. A-3).

Geofrey Sher, Virginia Davis and Jean Stoess, In Vitro Fertilization: The A.R.T. of Making Babies (copyright 1998 by authors; information by contacting Facts On File, Inc., 11 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10001): "(2) the fertilized egg, which has not yet divided, is now known as a zygote; (3) the egg begins to divide and is now known as an embryo; at this point each blastomere, or cell, within the embryo is capable of developing into an identical embryo." (p. 20).

In Peter Brinsden (ed.), A Textbook of In Vitro Fertilization and Assisted Reproduction, 2nd edition (New York: The Parthenon Publishing Group, 1999): Kay T. Elder, "Laboratory techniques: Oocyte collection and embryo culture", p. 197: "Surprisingly, fragmented embryos, repaired or not, do implant and often come to term. This demonstrates the highly robust nature of the human embryo, as it can apparently lose over half of its cellular mass and still recover."

Ronan O'Rahilly and Fabiola Muller, Human Embryology & Teratology (3rd ed.)(New York: Wiley-Liss, 2001): "Biopsy of an embryo can be performed by removing one cell from a 4-cell, or two cells from an 8-cell, embryo. This does not seem to decrease the developmental capacity of the remaining cells.... The embryo enters the uterine cavity after about half a week, when probably at least 8-12 cells are present and the endometrium is early in its secretory phase. Each cell (blastomere) is considered to be still totipotent (capable, on isolation, of forming a complete embryo), and separation of these early cells is believed to account for one-third of cases of monozygotic twinning. (p. 37)... Cells differentiate by the switching off of large portions of their genome. Future somatic cells thereby lose their totipotency and are liable to senscence, whereas germ cells regain their totipotency after meiosis and fertilization. (p. 39)... As soon as a cavity can be detected (by light microscopy) in the cellular mass of the morula, the organism is termed a blastocyst. This occurs when about 16-32 cells are present. The embryo is about 4 days in age and is not yet attached to the uterine mucosa.... The appearance of the blastocyst demonstrates the differentiation into (1) trophoblast (or trophectoderm), the peripherally situated cells and (under the influence of E-cadherin) in first epithelium formed, and (2) embryonic cells proper. The latter, at first few in number, form the inner cell mass (ICM). The trophoblast at the future site of attachment is sometimes termed polar, the remainder being called mural. The cells of the ICM (inner cell mass) are considered to be totipotent initially. They give rise directly to various lines of embryonic stem cells." (p. 39).

Ronan O'Rahilly and Fabiola Muller, Human Embryology & Teratology (New York: Wiley-Liss, 1994): "... The embryo enters the uterine cavity after half a week, when probably at least 8-12 cells are present and when the endometrium is early in its secretory phase (which corresponds to the luteal phase of the ovarian cycle). Each cell (blastomere) is considered to be still totipotent (capable, on isolation, of forming a complete embryo), and separations of these early cells is believed to account for one-third of cases of monozygotic twinning." (p. 23).

Bruce Carlson, Human Embryology & Developmental Biology (St. Louis, MO: Mosby, 1999) (2nd ed.): "Early mammalian embryogenesis is considered to be a highly regulative process. Regulation is the ability of an embryo or an organ primordium to produce a normal structure if parts have been removed or added. [Note at bottom of page: "Opposed to regulative development is mosaic development, which is characterized by the inability to compensate for defects or to integrate extra cells into a unified whole. In a mosaic system, the fates of cells are rigidly determined, and removal of cells results in an embryo or a structure that is missing the components that the removed cells were destined to form. Most regulative systems have an increasing tendency to exhibit mosaic properties as development progresses"]. At the cellular level, it means that the fates of cells in a regulative system are not irretrievably fixed and that the cells can still respond to environmental cues. Because the assignment of blastomeres into different cell lineages is one of the principal features of mammalian development, identifying the environmental factors that are involved is important. (pp. 44-49);... Of the experimental techniques used to demonstrate regulative properties of early embryos, the simplest is to separate the blastomeres of early cleavage-stage embryos and determine whether each one can give rise to an entire embryo. This method has been used to demonstrate that single blastomeres, from two- and sometimes four-cell embryos can form normal embryos,... (p. 44);... Fate mapping experiments are important in embryology because they allow one to follow the pathways along which a particular cell can differentiate. Fate mapping experiments, which involve different isozymes of the enzyme glucose phosphate isomerase, have shown that all blastomeres of an eight-cell mouse embryo remain totipotent; that is, they retain the ability to form any cell type in the body. Even at the 16-cell stage of cleavage, some blastomeres are capable of producing progeny that are found in both the inner cell mass and the trophoblastic lineage. (p. 45);... Another means of demonstrating the regulative properties of early mammalian embryos is to dissociate mouse embryos into separate blastomeres and then to combine the blastomeres of two or three embryos. The combined blastomeres soon aggregate and reorganize to become a single large embryo, which then goes on to become a normal-appearing tetraparental or hexaparental mouse. By various techniques of making chimeric embryos, it is even possible to combine blastomeres to produce interspecies chimeras (e.g., a sheep-goat). (p. 45);... The relationship between the position of the blastomeres and their ultimate developmental fate was incorporated into the inside-outside hypothesis. The outer blastomeres ultimately differentiate into the trophoblast, whereas the inner blastomeres form the inner cell mass, from which the body of the embryo arises. Although this hypothesis has been supported by a variety of experiments, the mechanisms by which the blastomeres recognize their positions and then differentiate accordingly have remained elusive and are still little understood. If marked blastomeres from disaggregated embryos are placed on the outside of another early embryo, they typically contribute to the formation of the trophoblast. Conversely, if the same marked cells are introduced into the interior of the host embryo, they participate in formation of the inner cell mass. Outer cells in the early mammalian embryo are linked by tight and gap junctions... Experiments of this type demonstrate that the developmental potential or potency (the types of cells that a precursor cell can form) of many cells is greater than their normal developmental fate (the types of cells that a precursor cell normally forms). (p. 45);... Classic strategies for investigating developmental properties of embryos are (1) removing a part and determining the way the remainder of the embryo compensates for the loss (such experiments are called deletion experiments) and (2) adding a part and determining the way the embryo integrates the added material into its overall body plan (such experiments are called addition experiments). Although some deletion experiments have been done, the strategy of addition experiments has proved to be most fruitful in elucidating mechanisms controlling mammalian embryogenesis. (p. 46);... Blastomere removal and addition experiments have convincingly demonstrated the regulative nature (i.e., the strong tendency for the system to be restored to wholeness) of early mammalian embryos. Such knowledge is important in understanding the reason exposure of early human embryos to unfavorable environmental influences typically results in either death or a normal embryo. (p. 46);... One of the most powerful experimental techniques of the last two decades has been the injection of genetically or artificially labeled cells into the blastocyst cavity of a host embryo. This technique has been used to show that the added cells become normally integrated into the body of the host embryo, additional evidence of embryonic regulation. An equally powerful use of this technique has been in the study of cell lineages in the early embryo. By identifying the progeny of the injected marked cells, investigators have been able to determine the potency (the range of cell and tissue types that an embryonic cell or group of cells is capable of producing) of the donor cells (p. 46);... Some types of twinning represent a natural experiment that demonstrates the highly regulative nature of early human embryos,... (p. 48);... Monozygotic twins and some triplets, on the other hand, are the product of one fertilized egg. They arise by the subdivision and splitting of a single embryo. Although monozygotic twins could... arise by the splitting of a two-cell embryo, it is commonly accepted that most arise by the subdivision of the inner cell mass in a blastocyst. Because the majority of monozygotic twins are perfectly normal, the early human embryo can obviously be subdivided and each component regulated to form a normal embryo." (p. 49).

William J. Larsen, Essentials of Human Embryology (New York: Churchill Livingstone, 1998): [Monozygotic twinning in humans] "If the splitting occurred during cleavage -- for example, if the two blastomeres produced by the first cleavage division become separated -- the monozygotic twin blastomeres will implant separately, like dizygotic twin blastomeres, and will not share fetal membranes. Alternatively, if the twins are formed by splitting of the inner cell mass within the blastocyst, they will occupy the same chorion but will be enclosed by separate amnions and will use separate placentae, each placenta developing around the connecting stalk of its respective embryo. Finally, if the twins are formed by splitting of a bilaminar germ disc, they will occupy the same amnion." (p. 325). [Back]

22 Many human beings have more or less than "46" chromosomes: "Numerical Abnormalities: When an individual is missing either a chromosome from a pair (monosomy) or has more than two chromosomes of a pair (trisomy). An example of a condition caused by numerical abnormalities is Down Syndrome, also known as Trisomy 21 (an individual with Down Syndrome has three copies of chromosome 21, rather than two). Turner Syndrome is an example of monosomy, where the individual - in this case a female - is born with only one sex chromosome, an X.", at: http://www.genome.gov/11508982#al-3. See also: "Human Chromosomal Disorders", at: http://www.biology.iupui.edu/biocourses/N100/2k2humancsomaldisorders.html; "Karyotypes and Nondisjunction", at: http://www.biolady.net/lecture_notes/cpbio/karyotypes_nondisjunction.pdf. [Back]

23 Species other than humans with "46" chromosomes: Chromosomes of different species differ in number and information content. 1. Humans and several other species of organisms have 46 chromosomes: http://www.daltonstate.edu/faculty-staff/amckie/Bio%201%20Docs/Ch.10%20Outline.pdf. See also: A deer species (Muntjacus reevesi ) and a species of wild rat (Rattus sensu) http://en.allexperts.com/q/Biology-664/46-chromosome-creatures.htm; Wikipedia chart listing several other species with "46" chromosomes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_number_of_chromosomes_of_various_organisms. Also in Wikipedia: the common marmoset: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Marm...; the golden marmoset: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Lion...; the fork-marked lemur: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fork-crowne...; the brown-mantled tamarin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown-mantl...; the moustached tamarin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moustached_...; the black-mantled tamarin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-mantl...; the cotton-toped tamarin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottontop_T...; Reeves's muntjac: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reeves%27s_Muntjac; the sable antelope: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sable_Antelope; even the olive tree: http://books.google.com/books?id=qBOPoEc -zu4C&pg=PT214&lpg=PT214&dq=%2246+chromo. [Back]

24 For a good brief explanation of "epigenetics", see Evan Charney, "Review: Genetic Explanations: Sense and Nonsense" (October 24, 2013), Center for Genetics and Society, at: http://www.geneticsandsociety.rsvp3.com/article.php?id=7255&mgh=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.geneticsandsociety.org&mgf=1. See also: "Genes Outside Nucleus Have Disproportionate Effect" (October 12, 2013), Science Daily, at: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131012093035.htm; also, "How science goes wrong; Scientific research has changed the world. Now it needs to change itself" (October 19, 2013), The Economist, at: http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21588069-scientific-research-has-changed-world-now-it-needs-change-itself-how-science-goes-wrong. [Back]

25 KEITH MOORE AND T.V.N. PERSAUD, The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology (6th ed. and later only) (Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company, 1998) "The embryo's chromosome sex is determined at fertilization by the kind of sperm (X or Y) that fertilizes the ovum; hence it is the father rather than the mother whose gamete determines the sex of the embryo." (p. 37). [Back]

26 The human genome is not defined in terms of the nuclear genes alone, but in terms of the total DNA in the cell, including DNA found outside of the nucleus in the cytoplasm: Tom Strachan and Andrew P. Read, Human Molecular Genetics 2 (2nd ed.) (New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1999): "The human genome is the term used to describe the total genetic information (DNA content) in human cells. It really comprises two genomes: a complex nuclear genome..., and a simple mitochondrial genome... Mitochondria possess their own ribosomes and the few polypeptide-encoding genes in the mitochondrial genome produce mRMAs which are translated on the mitochondrial ribosomes. (p. 139); In animal cells, DNA is found in both the nucleus and the mitochondria. (p. 10); The mitochondria also have ribosomes and a limited capacity for protein synthesis." (p. 18). Benjamin Lewin, Genes VII (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000): "A genome consists of the entire set of chromosomes for any particular organism, and therefore comprises a series of DNA molecules, each of which contains a series of many genes. The ultimate definition of a genome is to determine the sequence of the DNA of each chromosome. (p. 4);... Genes not residing within the nucleus are generally described as extranuclear; they are transcribed and translated in the same organelle compartment (mitochondrion or chloroplast) in which they reside. By contrast, nuclear genes are expressed by means of cytoplasmic protein synthesis." (p. 81). [Back]

27 The terms "fertilized egg" and "egg" have been formally rejected by human embryologists: "The term 'ovum', which has been used for such disparate structures as an oocyte and a 3-week embryo, has no scientific usefulness and is not used here. Indeed, strictly speaking, "the existence of the ovum... is impossible" (Franchi, 1970). The term 'egg' is best reserved for a nutritive object frequently seen on the breakfast table." [Carnegie Stages of Early Human Embryonic Development, Stage One, at: http://nmhm.washingtondc.museum/collections/hdac/stage1.pdf].

Bruce M. Carlson, Human Embryology and Developmental Biology (St. Louis, MO: Mosby, 1994): "... finally, the fertilized egg, now properly called an embryo, must make its way into the uterus." (p. 3). See also: Irving and Kischer, "Scientific Response to Criticism of the California Human Rights Amendment as 'Protecting Fertilized Eggs'" (December 9, 2009), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_175responsecalifornia.html. [Back]

28 The inner cell layer alone does not constitute the embryo at the blastocyst stage of development. Both the inner cell mass and the outer cell mass constitute the blastocyst: Bruce Carlson, Human Embryology and Developmental Biology (St. Louis, MO: Mosby, 1994: "About 4 days after fertilization, a fluid-filled space begins to form inside the embryo... The space is known as the blastocoele and the embryo as a whole is called a blastocyst." (p. 34). Bruce Carlson, ibid., 1999: "This process, which occurs about 4 days after fertilization, is called cavitation, and the fluid-filled space is known as the blastocoele. At this stage, the embryo as a whole is known as a blastocyst." (p. 38)... "At the blastocyst stage, the embryo consists of two types of cells: an outer superficial layer (the trophoblast) that surrounds a small inner group of cells called the inner cell mass. The appearance of these two cell types reflects major organizational changes that have occurred within the embryo and represents the specialization of the blastomeres into two distinct cell lineages. Cells of the inner cell mass give rise to the body of the embryo itself plus a number of extraembryonic structures." (pp. 39-40)

Ronan O'Rahilly and Fabiola Muller, Human Embryology & Teratology (New York: Wiley-Liss, 1994): "During the first week the embryo becomes a solid mass of cells and then acquires a cavity, at which time it is known as a blastocyst." (p. 23). [Back]

29 There is no absolute separation between these two cell layers in the blastocyst; Some of the cells from each cell mass end up in the "fetal membranes", and in the adult human being: Larsen (1998): "The development of differential adhesion between different groups of blastomeres also results in the segregation of some cells to the center of the morula and others to the outside It is believed that the third- or fourth-generation blastomeres that divide earliest may be the ones displaced to the center of the morula. These centrally placed blastomeres are now called the inner cell mass, while the blastomeres at the periphery constitute the outer cell mass. Some exchange occurs between these groups. However, in general, the inner cell mass gives rise to most of the embryo proper and is therefore called the embryoblast. The outer cell mass is the primary source for the membranes of the placenta and is therefore called the trophoblast." (p. 15).

O'Rahilly and Muller (1994): "Thus the germ layers should not be considered in rigid isolation one from another, and many interdependences, particularly what are termed epithelio-mesenchymal interactions, are important in development. (p. 10);... The developmental adnexa, commonly but inaccurately referred to as the 'fetal membranes', include the trophoblast, amnion, chorion, umbilical vesicle (yolk sac), allantoic diverticulum, placenta and umbilical cord. These temporary structures are interposed between the embryo/fetus and the maternal tissues.... The adnexa are programmed to mature fast, to age more rapidly, and to die sooner than the embryonic/fetal body. Nevertheless they are genetically a part of the individual and are composed of the same germ layers." (p. 51). [Back]

30 The developing human embryo has no "tail": O'Rahilly and Muller (2001): "Between 4 and 7 weeks the caudalomost part of the trunk tapers, probably as a result of a precocious growth of the neural tube, but this is not a "tail". (p. 103)... A tail, in ordinary usage and with reference to vertebrates, consists of "a number of gradually attenuated coccygeal vertebrae covered with flesh and integument" (OED). The human embryo possesses no (vertegrated) "tail" at any stage of development. (p. 361)... Caudal appendages, as a rare anomaly found at birth, are of varied origin (some are teratomata), but they practically never contain skeletal elements. They are in no legitimate sense "tails". Projections that contain skeletal componenets are caused by a dorsal bending of the coccyx; they do not affect the normal number of vertebrae, and they have nothing to do with "atavism" [P. Hornitzki, "Ein Fall des Wirbelschwanzes bei einem Kinde," Zentralbl. Chir., (1940) 67:1051-1056]. [Back]

31 O'Rahilly and Muller (2001): "Recapitulation, the So-Called Biogenetic Law. The theory that successive stages of individual development (ontogeny) correspond with ({recapitulate") successive adult ancestors in the line of evolutionary descent (phylogeny) became popular in the nineteenth century as the so-called biogenetic law. This theory of recapitulation, however, has had a "regrettable influence on the progress of embryology" (G. de Beer).... According to the "laws" of von Baer, general characters (e.g., brain, notochord) appear in development earlier than special characters (e.g., limbs, hair). Furthermore, during its development an animal departs more and more from the form of other animals. Indeed, the early stages in the development of an animal are not like the adult stages of other forms but resemble only the early stages of those animals. The pharyngeal clefts of vertebrate embryos, for example, are neither gills nor slits. Although a fish elaborates this region into gill slits, in reptiles, birds, and mammals it is converted into such structures as the tonsils and the thymus." (p. 16).

Ibid, O'Rahilly and Muller (1994), pp. 8 - 9. [Back]

32 In Islamic embryology (now also on the internet), there is no human being or human person there until after 120 days "in the womb" when the angel infuses the soul. See Dr. Mahdi Esmaeilzadeh (Iran), "Holy Quran, New Sciences and Development of Human Embryo", at: http://www.webmedcentral.com/wmcpdf/Article_WMC002260.pdf: [after the "stage of mudgha"]: "After the mentioned stages, al-Qur'an declares: "Then we made out of the chewed lump,bones, and clothed the bones with flesh". The last stage is the infusion of the soul to the fetus and it becomes a real "person" in the legal sense. Many Muslim scholars, upon reliance on Prophetic traditions conclude that, the first 120 days cover three 40 day stages: the nutfah (a drop of sperm), the 'alaqah (a blood clot), and the mudghah (a little lump of flesh). Thus, accordingly, such an infusion of the soul occurs after 120 days of pregnancy in which the angel responsible for ensoulment delivers the spirit into the human embryo. This scientific idea is derived from the following hadith: "Each of you is constituted in your mother's womb for forty days as a nutfah, then it becomes a 'alaqah for an equal period, then a mudghah for another equal period, then the angel is sent, and he breathes the soul into it". (Ibn al-Qayyim, 1994; al-Baghdadi, 1988)... CONCLUSION: Al-Quran tells us about the creation of a child in a mother's womb and its chronological evolution to full life. The parents only play an instrumental role in this creative process. During this process especially when the child is shaped after 120 days, Islam regards the fetus, in this condition, as a human being, so that the fetus should be granted a share and the right of inheritance, which will be enforced upon the child's delivery."

See also human developmental embryologist Canadian Keith Moore, another proponent of the false "pre-embryo", at a conference in Saudi Arabia agreeing, and explaining how Mohammed must have been divinely inspired to know this "embryology" and inscribe it in the Qur'an: (both on YouTube.com) "Embryology", Prof Keith L Moore part 1, at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou2RFxSv9Is; Part 2, at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPABXH1U1VQ. Moore and Persaud are well-known for their human embryology text book, The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology (5th ed.) (Philadelphia, Penn. 1993), in which the Carnegie Stages were extensively "rewritten" by them, including the use of the term "pre-embryo" dozens of times. This text was admitted by authors to have serious systematic scientific errors, including extensive use of the term "pre-embryo"; (see Irving 1994, below). Moore continues, however, to use the Islamic term "nuthah" as a "pre-embryo substitute" in another of his human embryology textbooks, with co-author Azzindani, Abdul Majeed A., The Developing Human. Clinically Oriented Embryology with ISLAMIC ADDITIONS [emphasis in original], 3rd Ed., Dar Al-Qiblah and W.B. Saunders. [This textbook is still available on-line at: http://www.onlineislamicstore.com/b6147.html (accessed September 15, 2008).

Also see Moore's suggestion to replace the Carnegie Stages: "…it is proposed that a new system of classification could be developed using the terms mentioned in the Quran and Sunnah...," in "This is the Truth," pp. 10-11; see video, "The Video Clips of the Scientists' Comments on the Quran; Professor Keith L. Moore, Comment 2," available from http://www.islam-guide.com/truth.htm (accessed February 5, 2008); quoted in "The Quran on Human Embryonic Development," available from http://www.islam-guide.com/frm-ch1-1-a.htm. For some trenchant rebuttals of this specific "modern embryology", see: Dr. Yusuf Needham and Dr. Butrus Needbeer, "Qur'anic Embryology", at: http://www.geocities.com/freethoughtmecca/embryo.html; also, "The Qur'an and Modern Science: Extracts from the video 'The Truth', http://www.islam101.com/science/quran_sc_tv.html; also, at http://www.scotland.com/forums/showthread.php3?threadid=18165

See also Irving, "'New Age' Embryology Text Books: 'Pre-Embryo,''Pregnancy' and Abortion Counseling; Implications for Fetal Research," The Linacre Quarterly 61, no. 2 (May 1994): 42-62, PubMed ID: 11652337, at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_50newagetextbook1.html. [Back]

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