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Person 1: It’s just a clump of cells. Person 2 (our hero): I’m not sure I understand. I agree a fetus is made of cells, but so are you and I. Is your point maybe that a fetus seems like “raw human material” that still needs to be “assembled” before it’s a real human?

Is It Just a Clump of Cells?

If indeed this is what the person is concerned about, gently explain that after fertilization, the zygote directs her own development, using her own DNA to grow her own organs. The mother provides things like food and water, but she never “assembles” her baby. Biologically, a zygote is already a living member of the human species.

First posted March 17, 2018

Suggested:

Person 1: It’s just a blob of tissue. Person 2 (our hero): I’m not sure I understand. I agree a fetus is made of tissue, but so are you and I. Is your point maybe that a fetus seems like “raw human material” that still needs to be “assembled” before it’s a real human?

Our hero: Infants aren’t “constructed” from the outside. Instead, after fertilization, the zygote directs her own growth and development. A fetus grows a heart in more or less the same way an adult grows new skin.

Person 1: Why are zygotes more valuable than sperm? Person 2 (our hero): Good question! A zygote is a whole organism. When you were a zygote, you had the same DNA you have now. Before that, a sperm had just half your DNA.

Person 1: Nobody cares when sperm or eggs die. Why care when a zygote dies? Person 2 (our hero): It’s true that they’re all tiny living cells, but unlike sperm and eggs, a zygote is a new entire organism, a member of the human species, with its own DNA.