Making and Using Humans

Where are we now and where do we go from here?

 We already know how to reproduce (as opposed to procreate) humans.  The technology is called IVF (In Vitro Fertilization).  We reproduce 10s of thousands of humans every year using this process.  IVF is the main component of a $2 Billion industry today and growing rapidly.

 We have a well developed market for human sperm and human eggs.  We even have a market for womb rentals.  It is called surrogate motherhood.

 This human reproduction process includes a quality control system to prevent the reproduction of defective humans.  It is called PGD (Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis).  Defective humans are discarded.

 We also reproduce more humans than we need (400,000 more) so those surplus humans are left in the embryo stage and frozen for future potential use.  One common use is research.  It is called Embryonic Stem Cell Research.

 That’s where we are today.

 The reproduction of human clones for research is not far in the future.  While the premature celebration of their  arrival in Korea turned out to be a fake, the progress in that direction continues.  Dolly the sheep was reproduced using that technology.  Success with human clones is almost certain and soon. 

 We already have the technology to adjust the genes (the DNA) of those clones when we can reproduce them. 

 So far we are only talking about microscopic embryos.  We could do much more powerful research and come up with many more cures and faster is we could work with humans that have already developed working organs such as hearts, kidneys, eyes, brains, etc.  By 10 or 12 weeks from fertilization human fetuses, cloned or non-cloned, would have developed all of those organs.

 While we cannot yet grow humans past the embryo stage to the fetal stage without the use of a live human womb we already have enacted laws (in New Jersey) which allow research on those fetuses.  Work on artificial wombs is also underway.

 Perhaps we don’t need artificial wombs to do research on living fetuses.  If women are prepared to go through the rigors of egg donations for a sum of money perhaps they would be willing to donate a live fetus as well. 

 Many of them were going to have an abortion anyway.  Over one million human fetuses are aborted every year in this country, most of them at that 10 to 12 week stage.  Shouldn’t we make some use of those fetuses that would otherwise be wasted?  Just like those 400,000 spare embryos. After all they aren’t persons.  Right? They are only human non-persons. 

 Human non-persons. Now there is a useful concept.

 But there are laws – the Born Alive Infant Protection Act.  But these are not infants.  They are only fetuses.  And they were not ‘born’.  They were ‘extracted’ or ‘evacuated’. 

 How soon might this be happening?  Might it already be happening? 

 It is known, but not widely, that researchers today work on tissues retrieved from aborted fetuses.  There is a market for these tissues.  There are known price lists for various fetal parts.

 Research on live fetuses?  Is it possible?

 And then what?  Organ donation?  Spare parts humans?

  Do we really want to go there?