La vida breve del preembrión. Historia de una palabra
| Autor | Modesto Ferrer Colomer - Luis Miguel Pastor |
| Cargo | Director Back Unit. Fundación Kovacs. Hospital Mesa del Castillo. Murcia - Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Medical School, IMIB |
| Páginas | 677-694 |
677Cuad. Bioét. XXIII, 2012/3ª
The preembryo’s short lifetime. The history of a word
THE PREEMBRYO’S SHORT LIFETIME.
THE HISTORY OF A WORD
LA VIDA BREVE DEL PREEMBRIÓN.
HISTORIA DE UNA PALABRA
Modesto Ferrer Colomer
Director Back Unit.
Fundación Kovacs.
Hospital Mesa del Castillo. Murcia
modfercol@gmail.com
Luis Miguel Pastor
Department of Cell Biology and Histology,
Medical School, IMIB,
Regional Campus of International Excellence
Campus Mare Nostrum,
University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
bioetica@um.es
Abstract
This article is a study of the historical aspects that gave rise to the term ‘preembryo’.
Welookathowtheappearanceofthistermwasrelatedwithaemptstojustifyethical
aspects associated with the destruction of embryos in the context of in vitro fecundation.
Therstscienticarticle foundusingthisterm waswrienbyCliord Grobsteinin
1979 and not, as many people think, the Warnock report in 1984, although the term
was used decisively in the British parliament between 1984 and 1990, culminating in
the parliamentary approval of human embryos for research purposes. In the United
Statesthe term was promotedby the Ethical Commieeof the AmericanFertility
Society in However the term hardly appears in recent reports In scientic
and bioethical literature there has been a gradual decrease in the frequency with
which it is used. It seems that the word ‘preembryo’reected a newmetabiological
678 Cuad. Bioét. XXIII, 2012/3ª
Modesto Ferrer Colomer y Luis Miguel Pastor
conceptcoinedtoprovideabasisforapparentlyscienticdatainanaempttoavoid
ethical aspects related with the destruction of human embryos in the absence of any
unconditional respect towards the same. Once this goal had been achieved, the term
was gradually abandoned.
Key Words: preembryoinvitrofertilizationembryoresearchethicscommiees
personhood, history of science, embryo.
Resumen
Este artículo es un estudio sobre los aspectos históricos que dieron origen al término
«preembrión». En él observamos cómo la aparición de este término se relaciona con
losintentosde justicar los aspectos éticos relacionados conladestrucciónde los
embrionesenelcontextodelafecundacióninvitroElprimerartículocientícoque
usoestetérminofue escritoporCliordGrobsteinenynocomomuchagente
piensa, el informe Warnock en 1984, aunque el término fue utilizado de manera
decisiva en el Parlamento británico entre 1984 y 1990, culminando con la aprobación
parlamentaria de embriones humanos con nes de investigación En los Estados
UnidoseltérminofuepromovidoporelComitédeÉticadelaSociedadAmericanade
FertilidadenSinembargoeltérminocasinoapareceenrecientesinformesEn
laliteraturacientícaybioéticahahabidounadisminucióngradualenlafrecuencia
con que se utiliza. Parece que la palabra «preembrión» fue un nuevo concepto acuñado
metabiológicamentea partir deuna base dedatos aparentemente cientícosen un
intento de evitar los aspectos éticos relacionados con la destrucción de embriones
humanos y partiendo de la ausencia de respeto incondicional hacia los mismos. Una
vezqueesteobjetivoselogróel términoseha abandonadopocoapoco
Palabras claves: preembrión, fecundación in vitro, investigación con embriones,
comités éticos, estatuto del embrión, historia de la ciencia, embrión.
embryo in its first days of existence
is only a growing form of human life,
with a high degree of natural mortality
and lacking individuality, arguing that
the appearance of the primitive streak
is one of the basic elements of embryo
individualisationThereportidentiedan
interval of fourteen days after fecundation
during which the human embryo was
considered to have no special status,
and suggested that most scientific
Introduction
With the birth in 1978 of Louise
Brown, the first test tube baby, the
EthicsAdvisory Board EAB inUnited
States, felt the need to look carefully
at ethical aspects related with in vitro
fecundation IVF and the possibility
of using embryos to improve such
techniques. Its report, published on 4th
May 1979, indicated that the human
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