Dr. Irving's professional activities include teaching positions at Georgetown University, Catholic University of America, and The Dominican House of Studies. She represented the Catholic Medical Association of the United States, and the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations, at the Scientific Conference in Mexico City, Mexico, October 28, 1999 and presented a paper on "The Dignity and Status of the Human Embryo". Dr. Irving is a former career-appointed bench research biochemist/biologist (NIH, NCI, Bethesda, MD), an M.A. and Ph.D. philosopher (Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.), and Professor of the History of Philosophy, and of Medical Ethics.
See also: Dr. Irving's commentaries on this site.
Contact: DNIrving@aol.com
A human embryo is a human being - not just a "cell" or a "bunch of cells"; not an "egg", and not a "pre-embryo". Yet it has been implied, even by the Attorney General of the State of California that this youngest of human beings is not a human being, but just "an egg", or just "a fertilized egg". This claim is not only ridiculous; it is also perpetrating erroneous and false science.
Date posted: 2010-06-12
Mercer has a two-fold task: (1) scientifically, to prove beyond a doubt that even if a human BEING begins to exist at "conception" (his term), that fact simply doesn't matter; and (2) philosophically, to prove beyond a doubt that a fetus is not a PERSON, and therefore can be aborted. If he can accomplish this, then - for whatever his reasons - he can champion a woman's right to abortion. Let's see if Mercer can successfully make his point.
Date posted: 2010-05-04
International agreement and documentation by the experts in human embryology and human molecular genetics make the following perfectly clear. The new single-cell human embryo formed sexually at the beginning of the process of fertilization (when the sperm makes first contact with the oocyte) is a new living human being. The new human embryo formed asexually by various natural or artificial reproductive techniques (such as one of every two identical twins) is a new living human being. They are not "eggs".
Date posted: 2010-01-28
The following responses to Dr. Maureen Condic's "science" presented in her interview on "when human life begins" with the National Catholic Register were written independently, and sent to the NCR and related others. They are copied here as sent. Such overtly erroneous "science" could be used to "justify" human cloning, human embryonic stem cell research, human reproductive genetic engineering, the use of abortifacients - whether the early human embryo is sexually or asexually reproduced, in vivo or in vitro. Such erroneous "science" needs to be identified, especially for those with little or no scientific background. Dr. Condic's interview follows at the end.
Date posted: 2010-01-06