--- On Sun, 5/23/10, Ivo da C.Souza <[email protected]> wrote: > > Dear Goannetters, > Dr.Jerome Lejeune teaches us when human life begins scientifically. >
The above falsehood and the accompanying political testimonies were posted here a few months ago. At that time I had posted a thorough refutation of this nonsense by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and other eminent scientists, stating that the testimonies provided are political opinions and personal religious beliefs, not well-established scientific conclusions. Dr. Lejeune is not speaking scientifically. He is speaking politically or religiously. Here is a link to one of those prior responses of mine on Goanet: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/msg56213.html Here is the what I said in another such response: QUOTE Science has never concerned itself with the pious beliefs about the beginnings of life of any particular religious denomination. The U.S. National Academy of Sciences has clearly stated in a strong resolution that the above claim regarding human life (that human life begins at conception) "cannot stand up to the scrutiny of science", and that it is basically a "matter of moral and religious values". The academy's position has been supported in an independent petition by more than 1200 eminent scientists, including 6 Nobel Laureates, one of whom is David Baltimore, a current member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. They stated that this claim is "a misuse and a misunderstanding of science," and that "science cannot define the moment at which 'actual human life' begins". UNQUOTE Here are the refutations by other eminent scientists that caused the senators to reject the testimonies of Dr. Lejeune and others that were copied and pasted in the above-referenced post, and to not pass the bill: QUOTE The crux ... of the bill before you is the statement. . . "that present day scientific evidence indicates a significant likelihood that actual human life exists from conception." I must respectfully but firmly disagree with this statement for two reasons: first, because I know of no scientific evidence which bears on the question of when actual human life exists; second, because I believe that the notion embodied in the phrase "actual human life" is not a scientific one, but rather a philosophic and religious one. .................... I have no quarrel with anyone's ideas on this matter, so long as it is clearly understood that they are personal beliefs . . . and not scientific truths. .................... If I am right in asserting that the question of when actual life begins is not a scientific matter, then, you may ask, why have so many scientists come here to say that it is? My answer is that scientists, like all other people, have deeply held religious feelings to which they are entitled. In their remarks at these hearings, however, I believe that those who have preceded me have failed to distinguish between their moral or religious positions and their professional, scientific judgments. UNQUOTE ---- Dr. Leon Rosenberg, Eminent geneticist of Yale University at the time. QUOTE Modern man knows too much to pretend that life is merely the beating of the heart or the tide of breathing. Nevertheless he would like to ask biology to draw an absolute line that might relieve his confusion. The plea is in vain. There is no single, simple answer to ‘when does life begin?’ UNQUOTE ----- Dr. Joshua Lederberg, Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine QUOTE whether the very first cell that comes into existence after fertilization of an ovum represents, in itself, a human life, is not in any real sense a scientific question and cannot be answered by scientists. Whatever the answer, it can neither be verified nor proven false using today's scientific knowledge. It is therefore in the domain of metaphysics; it can be argued by philosophers and theologians, but lies beyond the reach of science. UNQUOTE ----- Dr. Lewis Thomas, World-famous medical scientist and popular writer Cheers, Santosh
