Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

[Zeev Hed]

I understand what you say, and even understand those that would say, the moment the spermatozoa penetrates the egg is the moment of beginning of life, but my scriptures are clear with no second thoughts on the issue, life begins with the first independent breath of the new born. A huge body of Jewish law is based on this since preservation of an existing life is one of the most important elements of Judaism. There is a serious debate in Jewish circles right now on the issue of stem cell research, and should be a debate on the issue on general moral grounds, but the issues do not relate to "killing the unborn baby" in a fertilized egg from which stem cells are harvested, the issue is much broader, including the whole issue of human engineering and cloning. Should you grow a clone of yourself without "animating it", so that latter in your life, you can harvest its body parts to save (your or others) lives?