Only when I'm in a bad mood do I start this kind of trouble

Posted June 17th, 2005 by Prometheus 6

Culture wars

They replace enough of the water in the cell with a cryoprotectant...like anti-freeze...to keep it from rupturing. I assume they replace the cryoprotectant with water after they thaw one out.

Now, the question must be asked...after having a significant fraction of the water it contains replaced with ethylene glycol or glycerol and being frozen, after having their fundamental physical nature altered, are they alive? Are they cells?

Now, thaw and implant one of those embryos. Bring it to term.

Is the offspring alive?

Two questions with yes/no answers. Let's build a little truth table to see what the repercussions of all possible answers to these questions might be.

		Are the frozen cells alive?
		Yes	No
Is the child alive?	Yes	Living souls are trapped in frozen corpses, then killed without ever having had a chance for life	The life began at some time after the embryo was thawed and embedded, i.e., after conception.
Is the child alive?	(don't be an ass)