A few weeks ago, William Saletan reviewed the new book Embryo in the New York Times Book Review . Robert George and Chris Tollefsen (the co-authors of Embryo ) replied the next day in an article for National Review Online . Saletan replied later that week with an article on Slate . Now George and Tollefsen have replied again .
The exchange is quite civil, and while the specific arguments aren’t all that new, the back-and-forth is illustrative of where the (biological) debate over embryonic life stands today. Saletan is a super-bright bioethics journalist, an honorable liberal, and a somewhat reluctant supporter of embryo destruction and abortion rights. But his arguments here are surprisingly weak. (Of course, I would say that, given my association with the bioethics program at the Witherspoon Institute, where George and Tollefsen are fellows.) Still, check it out for yourself.
