Pro-Life Rebuttal 1.3 – It is Not Just a Clump of Cells, but a Functioning Human Organism

To say that it is a clump of cells is scientifically false.

Quote from Maureen Condic, Ph.D.:

An organism is defined as “(1) a complex structure of interdependent and subordinate elements whose relations and properties are largely determined by their function in the whole and (2) an individual constituted to carry on the activities of life by means of organs separate in function but mutually dependent: a living being.” (Merriam-Webster)   This definition stresses the interaction of parts in the context of a coordinated whole as the distinguishing feature of an organism.  Organisms are “living beings.”  Therefore, another name for a human organism is a “human being”; an entity that is a complete human, rather than a part of a human.

Human beings can be distinguished from human cells using the same kind of criteria scientists use to distinguish different cell types.  A human being (i.e., a human organism) is composed of human parts (cells, proteins, RNA, DNA), yet it is different from a mere collection of cells because it has the characteristic molecular composition and behavior of an organism: it acts in an interdependent and coordinated manner to “carry on the activities of life.”

Human embryos from the one-cell (zygote) stage forward show uniquely integrated, organismal behavior that is unlike the behavior of mere human cells.  The zygote produces increasingly complex tissues, structures and organs that work together in a coordinated way.  Importantly, the cells, tissues and organs produced during development do not somehow “generate” the embryo (as if there were some unseen, mysterious “manufacturer” directing this process), they are produced by the embryo as it directs its own development to more mature stages of human life.  This organized, coordinated behavior of the embryo is the defining characteristic of a human organism.

In contrast to human embryos, human cells are alive and, under some circumstances, they can assemble into primitive tissues and structures.  Yet under no circumstances do mere human cells produce the kind of coordinated interactions necessary for building a fully integrated human body.  They do not produce tissues in a coherent manner and do not organize them so as to sustain the life of the entity as a whole.  They produce tumors; i.e., parts of the human body in a chaotic, disorganized manner.  They behave like cells, not like organisms.