Sanctity of Human LifeDoes a person have the right to kill another human life, at any stage of its development? A town council debates whether to sacrifice Bill, a man with no earthly ties, to save five members of society. Two parents must choose between using embryonic stem cell treatment to reverse their son's paralysis or leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. The mother wishes to use the treatment while the stepfather is against the treatment because it kills an embryo. In both situations, the sanctity of life requires the individual not to sacrifice innocent human life, potential or existing, to enhance the well-being of others. An embryo is a potential human life; we therefore cannot sacrifice it. Potential human life is present at the moment of conception, when the egg and sperm come together. Only nine months separate this embryo from developing human status. Letting an embryo die to increase the well-being of the young man does not respect the sanctity of human life. The young man still has potential; he is not dead. The embryo embodies the rawest potential of human life. Both are human lives with inviolable potential. Kant's categorical imperative applies here. The embryo is an end and not a means. It must be valued for its very existence; it is a meaningful life, on par with other lives. A universal law is only moral if it applies to all people. If someone believes that everyone must be honest, then he must be honest, otherwise the law is not universal. The universal application of the sanctity of life considers that sacrificing one to save another is immoral, because we then make an exception to this law. Thus, no form of human life is worthy of sacrifice. In the organ harvesting dilemma, the sanctity of life prevents... middle of paper ...... from endangering others. Works Cited Weston, Anthony. A 21st century ethical toolkit. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford, 2008. Print. Pages 127-144 Anthony Weston has taught ethics for 25 years and is currently Professor of Ethics at Elon University. He has written numerous books on ethics and its use. This book is a guide to ethics, its morality and its application. It uses vivid excerpts from renowned authors and philosophers to convey information effectively. By reading this book, we discover new conceptions about the world around us and about ourselves. Weston credits collaborating professors of similar studies for helping to produce this book at the beginning of the text. The information from Weston's book was crucial to understanding ethics, particularly the excerpt from Kant's Grounding for the Metaphysics Morals..