https://doi.org/10.4081/mem.1994.1016
Ten years after the Wamock Report: is the human neo-conceptus a person?
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Autori
This paper consists of two parts. The first one is an analytical discussion of embryogenesis. Arguments for using the term "pre-embryo" to refer to the earliest stages of nascent human life are examined and found wanting. lndeed, the term "pre-embryo" was coined in order to drive a conceptual wedge between the early product of conception and the post-fortnight (from conception) embryo and so justify choosing the 14-days lirnit (recommended by Wamock Report) for embryo research. The pre-embryo's upholders assert that the neoconceptus is not an individuai orgamsm and that there is a discontinuity in the development from a one-celi entity, a zygote, to a multicellular organism of some 14 days after fertilization. The author argues instead that once the zygote has been formed, there is a new organism, different from the two gametes taken separately, but the same as the fetus, the child and the adult into whom it develops, since there is no discontinuity in the process of embryogenesis from the zygote stage to the fetal stage and beyond. The second part of the paper examines the terms "person" and "human being". The suggestion, put forward by some authors, that the two terms have different denotations is rejected. lnstead, it is argued that the term person is applicable to the human being from the time of conception and that everything we know about embryogenesis points to immediate animation.
Come citare
PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.
An Open Access Publication is one that meets the following two conditions:
- the author(s) and copyright holder(s) grant(s) to all users a free, irrevocable, worldwide, perpetual right of access to, and a license to copy, use, distribute, transmit and display the work publicly and to make and distribute derivative works, in any digital medium for any responsible purpose, subject to proper attribution of authorship, as well as the right to make small numbers of printed copies for their personal use.
- a complete version of the work and all supplemental materials, including a copy of the permission as stated above, in a suitable standard electronic format is deposited immediately upon initial publication in at least one online repository that is supported by an academic institution, scholarly society, government agency, or other well-established organization that seeks to enable open access, unrestricted distribution, interoperability, and long-term archiving.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.