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Date sent: Fri, 6 Oct 2000 11:30:55 -0300 Send reply to: Parkinson's Information Exchange Network <[log in to unmask]> From: Joao Carvalho <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: stem cells To: [log in to unmask] > > If this is correct, then what about the fact that a human fetus, at > > about 8 weeks' gestation, has a recordable EEG (and, as our > > technology gets better, maybe even earlier!). If that collection of > > "human cells" was > > You now are talking of human fetus , at about 8 weeks'gestation and so > far we were talking of embryos . Joao, The "point of division" (8 weeks gestation) for the name change from "embryo" to "fetus" is artificial, in my view, when it comes to EEG activity. I can't remember enough of my embryology to recall when the neural tube of the embryo differentiates into a "brain"; but I suspect that we will eventually be able to get an electrical signal from an embryo less advanced than 8 weeks. The debate about "blastulae" on this List is interesting, but, I think, not significant when related to my own concerns. It may be true that a "blastula" does not have a functioning human brain; and, if so, *may* be considered "fair game" for "research"; BUT, it is rather the *concept* (of creating a human being solely for the sake of using it for research or the treatment of other human beings) that disturbs me. This is the "slippery slope" that I repeatedly speak of in this debate. Once an unborn human being can be described as a "thing", a "mass of tissue"; or, as the current medical euphemism states, "products of conception", you can do what you will to it, and then, as time goes on and we get more and more desensitized, the same logic can be applied to more "advanced" humans. This is why, when a country goes to war with another country, there is a tendency to label the enemy as "gooks", "Japs", "Krauts", etc. It is easier to kill a "thing" than another human being. Best, Bob ********************************************** Robert A. Fink, M. D., F.A.C.S., P. C. 2500 Milvia Street Suite 222 Berkeley, California 94704-2636 Telephone: 510-849-2555 FAX: 510-849-2557 WWW: http://www.dovecom.com/rafink/ mailto:[log in to unmask] "Ex Tristitia Virtus" *********************************************