"Dred Scott in a Petri Dish?"

A wrongful death lawsuit concerning the destruction of a couple's stored embryos has reached the Illinois Appellate Court and advocacy groups on both sides are chiming in.

Tom Brechja, an attorney representing a coalition of Illinois prolife groups filed a legal brief in support of the plaintiffs, says the upcoming case is so significant, it is "the modern equivalent of Dred Scott in a petri dish."

Cook County's Judge Lawrence stated in the 2005 decision being appealed that "a pre-embryo is a 'human being' . . . whether or not it is implanted in its mother's womb" and that the parents of the destroyed embryos have the same right to seek compensation as any other parents whose child has been killed.

The court could determine whether an unimplanted embyro is "less human" than an implanted one. That would logically lead one to ask whether an embryo is "less human" than a toddler, a toddler "less human" than a teenager, a teenager "less human" than an adult?

While the Dred Scott case said the color of one's skin does not determine his or her "human-ness," will we as a society accept the premise that the stage of human development determines humanity, and therefore, society's protection?

If not, will someday a person's mental ability be a factor in determining his or her human-ness?


Link: Pro-Life Groups Support Illinois Parents' Wrongful Embryo Death Lawsuit.