Embryo House

In the not-too-distant future of Embryo House, the shockwaves of Roe v. Wade have wrought consequences that seven Supreme Court justices never imagined in 1973. The effects of the decision have trickled into the fabric of society without so much as a whisper of alarm. The law has decreed that life begins at birth, and now no one publicly debates it anymore. Enter Dr. Amos Kimbro, whose years of clandestine research have delivered conclusive proof that could shatter the new status quo. His lifelong goal to end abortion may finally come to fruition, but to achieve his dream he must live his nightmare. When a family secret is revealed, Dr. Kimbro and his son, David, find themselves on the run from the police, a pervasive g With powerful enemies at every turn, Ron Merritt must find a way to keep his client alive long enough to appear in court, but even he doesn't know the full truth. The final secret, once exposed, could open a door no one can close. government agency, and a radical pro-life group. Each has its own nefarious uses for Amos and David, and their only source of help is Ron Merritt, an attorney they aren't sure they can trust. Embryo House is a technological thriller set in a future that may be closer than anyone wants to believe, where secrets cannot be concealed and killing for profit takes on an entirely new meaning.

Scientific research involving human embryos was a major topic of public debate in Britain during the 1980s. Despite strong support from the scientific community, embryo research was initially condemned by many ordinary people as well as by special interest groups, and came close to being banned by Act of Parliament. Michael Mulkay describes the dynamics of the parliamentary struggle over the future of embryo research, focusing on such issues as: the clash between the anti-abortion and pro-research lobbies; the tactics of the Government; political ideology; the media's role; the importance of gender; religion; the impact of science fiction; the lure of medical advance; and the difficulty of maintaining ethical control. He explains how the advocates of embryo research eventually triumphed, and ends with an examination of the cultural tensions which linger after the debate.

Since the first fertilization of a human egg in the laboratory in 1968, scientific and technological breakthroughs have raised ethical dilemmas and generated policy controversies on both sides of the Atlantic. Embryo, stem cell, and cloning research have provoked impassioned political debate about their religious, moral, legal, and practical implications. National governments make rules that govern the creation, destruction, and use of embryos in the laboratory—but they do so in profoundly different ways. In Embryo Politics, Thomas Banchoff provides a comprehensive overview of political struggles about embryo research during four decades in four countries—the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. Banchoff’s book, the first of its kind, demonstrates the impact of particular national histories and institutions on very different patterns of national governance. Over time, he argues, partisan debate and religious-secular polarization have come to overshadow ethical reflection and political deliberation on the moral status of the embryo and the promise of biomedical research. Only by recovering a robust and public ethical debate will we be able to govern revolutionary life-science technologies effectively and responsibly into the future.

This assessment of Britain’s influential 14 day rule governing embryo research explores how and why it became the de facto global standard for research into human fertilisation and embryology, arguing that its influence and stability offers valuable lessons for successful biological translation. One of the most important features of the 14 day rule, the authors claim, is its reliance on sociological as well as ethical, legislative, regulatory and scientific principles. The careful integration of social expectations and perceptions, as well as sociological definitions of the law and morality, into the development of a robust legislative infrastructure of ‘human fertilisation and embryology’, enabled what has come to be known as the Warnock Consensus – a solid and enduring public acceptance that has enabled successive parliamentary approval for controversial areas of scientific research in the UK, such as stem cell research and mitochondrial donation, for over 30 years. These important sociological insights are increasingly relevant to new biotranslational challenges such as human germline gene editing and the use of AI assisted technologies in human reproduction. As the legislation around the 14 day rule begins to be reviewed worldwide, the important lessons we can learn from its global and enduring significance will apply not only to future legislation governing embryo research, but to the future of biological translation more widely. An important volume for those interested in reproductive studies, biogovernance and biological translation, it is suitable for researchers, clinicians and students in medicine, biosciences, sociology, and science and technology studies.

Embryo cleavage experiences a series of critical events and remarkable epigenetic modifications, especially morphological change and gene expression. The development of current assisted reproductive technology has created some new observations and novel discoveries in cleavage embryos. This book updates some new technologies and methods on the study of cleavage embryos to select high-quality embryos for transfer and improve embryo implantation and pregnancy. Major contents include embryo cleavage morphokinetics based on time-lapse imaging, gene expression of cleavage embryo and noninvasive assessment, and improving embryo cleavage technology. Thus, this book will greatly add new information for embryologists to select good-quality embryos for transfer to improve human embryo transfer pregnancy rate.

Research on the early human embryo has long been recognized as essential to progress in a host of biomedical areas from reproductive medicine to the treatment of pediatric cancers. Now, with the possibility of stem cell research and cell replacement therapies, embryo research holds out the promise of cures for many serious disease conditions such as diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. Despite its importance, however, human embryo research has met powerful opposition. Drawing on his experience as a member of the NIH's Human Embryo Research Panel, Green offers a first-hand account of the embryo research debates. In telling this story, he periodically pauses to reflect on some of the leading philosophical challenges posed by embryo research and new interventions at the start of life. Among the questions he examines are: What is the impact of new biological information on our thinking about life's beginning? May parents risk injuring a child in order to have it? What role should religion play in shaping biomedical policy in a controversial area like this? This is a fascinating insider's account of one of the most important, if unsuccessful, recent efforts to come to terms with a controversial area of scientific research.

Proposes that the human embryo in vitro is in a unique 'legal stasis' between potential person and useful research artefact.

Why are human embryos so important to many Christians? What does theology say concerning the moral status of these embryos? Answers to these questions can only be obtained by considering the manner in which Christian theology understands the great theme of the image of God. This book examines the most important aspects in which this image, and the related Christian notion of personhood, can be used in the context of theological arguments relating to the moral status of the human embryo. Thoughtful in approach and ecumenical in perspective, the author combines a thorough knowledge of the science of embryology with a broad knowledge of the theological implications. Part I Historical and Contemporary Christian Perspectives 1 The Moral Status of the Embryo 2 The Image of God 3 Being a Person from a Christian Perspective Part II The Image of God, Personhood and the Embryo 4 Creation and the Embryo 5 Incarnation and the Embryo 6 Substantive Aspects and the Embryo 7 Relational Aspects and the Embryo 8 Functional Aspects and the Embryo Conclusion Appendix: The Moral Status of New Kinds of Embryo