Yes, exactly, MHGinTN. And yet -- the only reason the "harvesters" of embryos are interested in harvesting embryos is because embryos clearly embody the principle of Life, yet at the same time are conveniently in no position to object when they are being grotesquely abused, wantonly sacrificed, for purposes that do not seem to support, sustain, or advance Life.
Those of the Christopher Reeves school in this debate will argue that quality of life is what finally matters. God bless Mr. Reeves (and I hear that he has made enormous strides lately in recovering lost function, at least in swimming pools), but I have to say there can be no quality of life absent a life in which to mediate it. That is, life itself comes necessarily prior to the issue of quality of life.
Somehow, this suggests to me that the sacrifice of the preborn to restore lost function to the already living is a disastrously wrong and evil choice. For folks of the Mr. Reeves school of argument must hold that the sacrifices required to restore an injured human person to prior functionality justifies the destruction of "incoming life", which I don't know how to understand except as a decision to regard a human life as a means to an end, and not a end in itself.
But this goes to the very heart of Western moral philosophy, to one of the two greatest "sins" man can ever commit: No human being can be used as a means to an end. Every human being is a sacred end in himself.
This is Culture War! my friend. And it has recently been joined in a big way. Stay tuned, and keep up the excellent work.
Thanks for the excellent analysis, MHGinTN, and for the ping.
In CR's case, he would have you agree with him that these are individual human lives being exploited in their earliest stage of a 'less worthy lifetime'; he would plead for a 'higher purpose' for these embryonic individuals, to sustain others who were not stripped of life support to harvest their body parts.
I know what you mean, but calling it a culture war is not really accurate. What is being called "culture war" os only one front (although a major one) in an overall war. We are in a spiritual war. If you are not already familiar with it, get a copy of the written word of God (aka the Bible) and read Ephesians 6:11-17. It gives the basic background that explains why such a subject as this even exists in our society. Make no mistake about it. There is an evil at work here that could only have been conceived by a being that passionately hates human life.