status of the early human embryo

The question raised by Cathleen Kaveny is an interesting one. She suggests that the pre-implantation embryo is not a human being because of the possibility of twinning. I think it worth mentioning that we are talking about a relatively rare phenomenon and that embryologists agree that fertilization normally represents the beginning of life for an individual. Does the possibility of twinning mean that the pre-implantation embryo ought not to be treated as a human being. It seems clear that the embryo at this stage is as Robby George has stated, "a unitary, self-integrating, actively developing human organism." That it is not certain to be an individual huuman person because it might split into 2 individuals does not mean that the early embryo "is a mere clump of cells." As Patrick Lee has stated: "a distinct, living human individual comes to be with the fertilization of the ovum by the sperm; another distinct, living human individual may be generated from the cells of a single living human individual either by twinning or by cloning." A developing human organism ought to be treated as a person. Bill May's treatment of this issue is at pages 166-170 of his Catholic Bioethics and the Gift of Human Life. One of Patrick Lee's statements on this issue is here. Robby George's statement on cloning addressing this issue (his statement to the President's Council on Bioethics) is here. A statement on this issue by Dr. John Hubert is here. 

Richard M.