It is all that. But it is also irrelevant in the question "is a human embryo killable?". My answer and that of the Church is rational: It is human and it is alive, therefore it is capable of exercising the right to life that humans have, yet incapable of offence (for which we sometime kill), therefore not killable. As you see this definition is indeed "preferred", but it is preferred because it has logic behind it.
Most folks recognize that a child is not an embryo and visa versa
What most folks "recognize" is not a criterion anyway. People recognize what they are taught to recognize. Modern man has not been taught anything of value in that regard.
unless the parents intent says otherwise. [...] The parents will probably choose one to be their child.
That is even a logical impossibility: the embryo is either a child of his parents or a child of someone else regardless of any parent's intent.
The folks at the fertility clinic are technicians, not parents
There goes your argument that the parents are owners of their child because they had sex to make him.
Morals are rules that when violated, infringe on someone's right
No, these are crimes. Abortion for example is a crime because it violates the right of a human being at a certain gestational age to live. Morals are stricter rules: they also involve intentions. So, for example, use of barrier contraception, or masturbation (its moral equivalent) is immoral but not criminal, because the intent is to defeat the good in the human nature of one's own self.
What exactly is a soul?
The souls is the part of a human being which when united to a body produces life. The soul contains people's reason, will and passions.
Human life begins at conception ... Barrier contraception is considered by the Church as a deliberate act to keep God out of the procreation.
Yes, that's it. Thank you. It is not the same sin as abortion, which takes an existing life. It is sometimes said that contraception violates the First Commandment, and abortion, -- the one against murder (different people number the Commandments differently).
You may believe this and prefer it, however you left out the other part of "the life". The mother's body is required for the embryo to live and develop further. That means the decision regarding valuation and rights is hers(the parents), not the Church's, or anyone elses. It is the parents intent that counts. That is logical.
Re:Most folks recognize that a child is not an embryo and visa versa
"What most folks "recognize" is not a criterion anyway. People recognize what they are taught to recognize. Modern man has not been taught anything of value in that regard."
No, they made a decision and simply do not believe what they're being told with regard to embryos. Being taught and believing are 2 different things.
Re: (embryos in a petri dish) unless the parents intent says otherwise. [...] The parents will probably choose one to be their child.
"That is even a logical impossibility: the embryo is either a child of his parents or a child of someone else regardless of any parent's intent."
It is logical. Although the embryos are human life, they are definitely not children, unless the parents designate one of them as such by having the embryo implanted. The rest are like skin cells in a petri dish, which are human life also.
Re: The folks at the fertility clinic are technicians, not parents
"There goes your argument that the parents are owners of their child because they had sex to make him."
That's not my argument. The parents own the embryos regardless and they also have exclusive right to raise their child.
Re: Morals are rules that when violated, infringe on someone's right
" No, these are crimes. Abortion for example is a crime because it violates the right of a human being at a certain gestational age to live. Morals are stricter rules: they also involve intentions. So, for example, use of barrier contraception, or masturbation (its moral equivalent) is immoral but not criminal, because the intent is to defeat the good in the human nature of one's own self.
Morals are rules that when violated, infringe on someone's right. An embryo's rights come from their parents, not the Church, or anyone else. When the parents decide to call their embryo a child, of their own free will, then the embryo is a their child and is endowed with the rights thereof. No one else has a say in the matter, unless the parents wait too long.
The claim that contraception and masterbation are intended to defeat the good in human nature is ridiculous.
"The souls is the part of a human being which when united to a body produces life. The soul contains people's reason, will and passions.
The physics of the world are sufficient to provide for machinery that provides all of the functions of life, including reason(rational capacity) and sentience, which includes consciousness and emotions. Will is simply the decision making process provided by rational capacity. The soul must be something else.