"Asexual reproduction"

Each and every human life is sacred, because each and every human life is made in the image and likeness of God.  Judie Brown is the president of the American Life League and a former member of the Pontifical Academy for Life.  In our Brave New World, Judie reminds us that we who care about the sacredness of human life must broaden our understanding of how and when human life can begin:

“Sexual reproduction means ‘fertilization’—the union of a human sperm with a human egg resulting in the reproduction of a genetically distinct human being. This can happen naturally within a woman’s body, or artificially in an IVF (in vitro fertilization) or ART facility (artificial reproductive technology).

“Asexual reproduction simply means ‘without the immediate use of fertilization’; it is the combining of parts of a human sperm, egg, embryo, or synthetic genes to reproduce a new human embryo. Most of the time this happens in IVF/ART facilities….

“The ‘3-parent-embryo’ now in the news involves the asexual reproduction of human embryos by several techniques (e.g., mitochondrial transfer, another kind of cloning). The mitochondria are found in the female’s oocyte (egg) and if they are defective, the mitochondria from a third party’s egg can be used instead. Thus three parents for one embryo!

“These forms of asexual reproduction exist and do result in human beings whose lives should be protected by law and in the culture….The terms ‘fertilization’ or ‘conception’ do not cover all human beings. Laws protecting only those reproduced by ‘fertilization’ would not protect those asexually reproduced” (4/22/14).