Those who traffic in this grisly trade may argue that my argument fails because we are not talking about human life. They may contend that embryos are not people and the law should not concern itself with their welfare. But the law already extends the rights of personhood to entities far less human than developing life in the womb. Our Supreme Court has held and continues to hold - that a corporation is a person covered by the Fourteenth Amendment and thus entitled to the state s protection. So, too, is a ship a legal person similarly protected in its rights under maritime law.
Some policy makers argue that animals have rights.
I freely admit that not every embryo will develop into an adult with the social conscience of a corporation that manufactures napalm or assault weapons. Nor will every embryo grow into a person with the environmental ethic of the Exxon Valdez. But that does not give those who terminate their lives license to sell them as spare parts. Research involving the use of human tissue and organs offers exciting possibilities for prevention of disease and treatment of disease and certain disabilities. We all long for the day when diseases like cancer and multiple sclerosis can be cured or prevented entirely.