Snowflake Babies

My wife told me about a news report she heard about "Snowflake Babies." These are frozen human embryos which have been salvaged by pro-life advocates who have "adopted" them; that is, placed them in-vitro and carried to full pregnancy as a fully formed human being.

The point for these folks seems to be: Look, these embryos are human beings...killing an embryo is killing a person. You can read more about what some of these folks are saying at http://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/news/a0036674.cfm.

Now, I must say these people (at least the female ones) are putting their bodies where their mouths are, and I admire that. I admire them in the same way I admire people who recycle everything...not just the usual stuff but, like, old soda-can pull-tops and used yarn and phlegm. They are so focused! So energetic and enthused!

But what interests me is where this energy comes from. It's clear that these folks think an embryo, frozen or not, is a person and has a soul...or at least has the potential to be a person. I'm curious where these folks would draw the line. Does an unfertilized egg constitute life? Or is the moment of fertilization the magical birth? What about all those gyrating sperm? Is Odin a murderer?

It seems to me that we are simply parts. We come from parts, we are made from parts, and we will decay into parts. It seems to me much of religion and faith in a soul is an attempt to deceive ourselves of this very basic fact of life. Parts is parts.

If that is true, is the "murder" of a potential-person for the potential curing of other people a bad thing. If you say yes, then what about this: How many living, breathing, pooping babies are right now being "murdered" to keep you healthy and comfortable? Maybe they are not being macheted (though some undoubtedly are); some are malnourished, impoverished and/or are ill and have no medical insurance. They die while you and I write silly pseudo-intellectualized blog posts. And perhaps putting an embryo in your body is more comfortable--yes, I said it--than seeking to discover the atrocities that are being perpetrated around the world, and in our country, and in your own town.

Okay, that's a little preachy, but it seems to me we are surrounded by abortions. Walk down any urban street and you'll see a handful of them, homeless and friendless and lost. Who's going to stick these in their uterus?

As much as admire the chutzpah of these Snowflake Baby rescuers, I don't think giving a cute name to DNA and providing a human stove to bake it in is a solution the big-picture problems.