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Anencephalic Children and Zombies

Children with anencephaly are still human beings deserving of our respect. To appreciate why this is so, it is helpful to consider a thought experiment from science fiction.
The creation of three-parent embryos is not an innocuous medical treatment—it is a macabre form of eugenic human cloning.
The ability to both produce all cell types and to organize them into a coherent body plan is the defining feature of a human organism. All stem cells lack essential elements supplied by the egg cell and cannot develop into a fetus.
Science can and should help determine sound public policy on matters that involve basic human rights.