Sir: Readers will examine Barbara Smok- er's premises (Letters, 2
January): a) that the change from fertilised egg to late foetus is fundamental enough to justify quite different treatment; b) that a cluster of undifferentiated cells develops into a foetus with a functioning nervous system.
There is, as she says, a qualitative change, but not a change of identity. It is untrue, and quite unscientific, to call a fertilised egg 'a cluster of undifferentiated cells'. That is conceded above, when the fertilised egg is called an organism, for an organism is not undifferentiated. It con- tains the complete genetic constitution of an adult, including sex, ultimate dimen- sions, texture, temperament and intellec- tual capacity. No one knows whether this microscopic marvel will become a Shakespeare or a Michelangelo. But if, as is likely, it will become an ordinary man or woman, we should approach it with awe and love.
M. A. Lynch 15 Church Street, London N9
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