Following the Science on the Issue of Fetal Personhood

    

 This is in response to Wesley Smith’s National Review post, “Medical Journal Screed

Decries All Fetal Personhood Laws,” 18 October 2025.

When does a developing fetus becomes “human?”  Does human life begin at conception

or sometime later in the pregnancy? When, later in the pregnancy? What if you are wrong

about your dating by even a few days? Could you mistakenly be ending a human life because it

does not meet your assigned definitions? Does the developing fetus have legal rights as a

person or are they/is it not yet human? Is it not obvious that an ectopic pregnancy is a

miscarriage and that it becomes a triage situation and therefore, not an abortion?

The overall conversation is seen by many as a religious question, and it is, but a rational

and scientific case can be made for opposition to abortion without any resort to religious

arguments.  Many people will not listen to anything even remotely religious, but they might

 listen if the discussion can be framed in a scientific way.

            We have often been told to "follow the science." This is a good and valid idea. In order to

remain completely uniform in thought, this advice should be consistently applied. This article

will present, in a highly simplified way, the scientific information necessary for a case against

abortion and some forms of birth control.

This is a very simplified presentation of human conception and the passage of genetic

information from the parents to the offspring. The information may seem to be complicated and

overwhelming, but at least a simplified basic understanding is necessary for a scientific critique

of the practice of abortion. That is what I will attempt to provide for you here.  It is necessary to

start at the beginning.

DNA (deoxy-ribonucleic acid) is a molecule consisting of two strands of nucleotide

bases (adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine) paired together in two long strings arranged in

 the shape of a helix.  DNA, a very complex and, at the same time, a very elegantly simple

 molecule, is present in every cell of the human body and contains, in coded form, all the

information necessary to build and maintain the entire body.

Combinations of the four bases in pairs contain the entire human genome; the genetic

code which determines a person's sex, hair color, voice, skin color, height, body type, number of

fingers and toes, fat distribution, eye color, genetic diseases, intelligence level, possible allergies,

digestion, athletic ability, blood group typing, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. The codes literally

determine everything about your physical body and genetic science clearly says that all the

information about you as a human individual is present from the moment of conception.

A very simplified explanation is this: each spermatozoan carries 23 chromosomes

containing copies of the father’s DNA and each egg cell contains 23 chromosomes containing

copies of the mother’s DNA. At fertilization, the two sets of chromosomes unite to produce the

zygote which has a total of 46 chromosomes (23 from the father and 23 from the

mother). There are, of course, abnormal situations when this process is distorted and birth

abnormalities result.

So, half of the individual’s genetic information comes from the mother and half from the

father. The chromosomal pattern in the fertilized egg is a hybrid of the coded instructions

present in each of the two source cells, made from them but individually different from each of

them; a fully separate genetic code, a totally distinct individual. To the mother’s immune

system, the fertilized egg is “Not Me,” it is a foreign body.   

The human female produces ova (eggs) which her body recognizes as "Me." Except in

rare cases of autoimmune disease, such as in immune oophoritis, the immune system leaves

the ovaries and the eggs alone. In autoimmune oophoritis, the body's immune system attacks

the ovaries as being “Not Me” and causes ovarian inflammation, severe damage, and fibrosis.

            Normally, when a sperm wins the frantic race to the egg, the egg immediately allows

the spermatozoan to enter and mix the DNA which it carries with the DNA which is present in

 the egg.  The resultant mixture of chromosomes is "Not Me," which presents a severe problem

because, if the body’s immune system is functioning properly it does not like "Not Me" and it

begins to makes moves to get rid of the "Not Me." It attacks "Not Me" to protect itself from

viruses, bacteria, and other organisms like yeast or protozoa. This is the reason why transplant

patients must take anti-rejection drugs for the rest of their lives. The transplanted tissues are

"Not Me" and would be killed if the body’s defenses are not properly suppressed.

To protect itself, the fertilized egg starts making proteins which tell the body, "move

on, there's nothing to see here." The proteins serve to hide the "Not Me." The body only sees

the "Me" and leaves the transplanted tissues alone.

Once the embryo implants and begins to increase in size, it rapidly becomes too "Not

Me" for the immune system to ignore, so the placenta takes over, releasing hormones, such as

progesterone, human chorionic gonadotropin, and other factors, to prevent rejection of the

fetus.

            The placenta is a temporary organ which contains both maternal and fetal tissue. Most

people recognize that the placenta nourishes the fetus, provides the fetus with oxygen, and

allows in some of the mother’s protective antibodies since the fetus’ immune system is not yet

functioning. It also allows the fetus’ waste products out into the mother’s blood system where

 they can then be properly eliminated. What people may not realize is that the placenta also

acts as a barrier and filter between the mother “Me” and the fetus “Not Me,” protecting the

“Not Me” from being killed. 

            Because of the placenta’s construction, the fetus and the mother effectively never come

into contact with one another.  Under the best of circumstances, the two bloodstreams never

mix. There are even two different types of hemoglobin at play, adult and fetal. The mother and

the fetus may also have different blood serotypes.

Remember that the fetus is "Not Me, " foreign tissue to the body of the mother. So,

what you have is, mother ("Me") and fetus ("Not Me"). Because the fetus has been effectively

disguised, the mother’s immune system, under normal situations, does not attempt to kill the

foreign material, the developing baby. 

This scientific information is one reason why there is so much controversy over when the

fetus becomes a separate, individual, and legally protected human, but this argument will not

convince everyone. The fertilized egg is clearly human tissue and is clearly genetically distinct

from tissue derived from the mother. None of this can answer the question of whether human

life legally begins at conception, at the first detectable heartbeat, or later.

Thirty-eight of the United States recognize the “unborn child” as a human and, in 2004,

United States President George W. Bush signed the Unborn Victims of Violence Act which views

unborn children as humans if they are injured or killed during the commission of specific federal

crimes such as terrorism. The United States courts have declared that these laws do not apply

to legal abortions.  My question is, “Why not?”  Is the only difference that the murdered child is

wanted and the aborted child is not? 

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If you wish to know more, see these links.

Very good:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss3/DNA2.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss3/dna.html&h=543&w=351&sz=42&tbnid=8CP_Dkmi3Hub9M:&tbnh=84&tbnw=54&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dimage%2B%2526%2BDNA%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=image+%26+DNA&usg=__DNAoHOES8pL7lQS_Oaj3PGM13so=&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uDw6UOT9OY2s8QTIrYG4AQ&ved=0CCMQ9QEwBA

            Kent, Athol, “Why Doesn’t a Mother Reject Her Fetus?” Reviews in Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2009, Winter, : 2(1): 67-68. This web page is from the Journal Article Summary Service of the National Library of Medicine and is published by the National Institutes of Health. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2672992/  (A quotation from this article, “It is a wonder of pregnancy that the fetus is not rejected by the mother’s immune system.”)

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

 Simplified:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

DNA to RNA to proteins

http://dna-rna.net/

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Detailed information on proteins:

http://www2.chemistry.msu.edu:80/faculty/reusch/VirtTxtJml/proteins.htm

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Chromosomes

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/D/Down.gif&imgrefurl=http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/C/Chromosomes.html&h=318&w=430&sz=29&tbnid=4sRt4QRwm30RKM:&tbnh=83&tbnw=112&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dimages%2B%2526%2Bchromosomes%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=images+%26+chromosomes&usg=__9giWb2_ajTIbvehrthPPLzjuZwA=&hl=en&sa=X&ei=hkA6UJ36EoT89gS6joGwCg&ved=0CBoQ9QEwAQ

http://images.yourdictionary.com/chromosome

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

The Unborn Victims of Violence Act (Public Law 108-212-Apr. 1, 2004

https://www.congress.gov/108/plaws/publ212/PLAW-108publ212.pdf

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Arguments on the Abortion Issue, For and Against

https://www.britannica.com/procon/abortion-debate/Con-Quotes

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

About Vaccines

             I have my opinions on vaccines and you have yours. It is not the intent of this blog to ever tell you what to think. This blog hopes to present you with raw verifiable facts which are consistent with objective reality. The intent is to help you to think for yourself, rationally and critically, and, hopefully, in the context of this blog, that you allow yourself to be led by the Holy Spirit.

Do not base your opinions solely on what I say. Do not base your opinions solely on what anyone else says. Do not base your opinions solely on what any religious tradition says. Listen to all of them, but use your own mind, and read your Bible. Be like the Bereans (Acts 17:11), even on totally secular matters. Like they used to say about the Marvel Cinematic Universe: “It’s all connected.”

The discussion about vaccines in the United States has devolved into people taking sides based on their political leanings and has come to involve multiple issues: progressivism, conservatism, autism, Christian nationalism, distrust of government, distrust of the giant pharmaceutical companies, distrust of science in general, rejection of organized religion, some elements of bigotry, possible adverse side effects of vaccines, issues of vaccine effectiveness, the ethics of mandates, libertarianism, epidemiological community health concerns, availability of health resources, possible vaccine effects on autoimmune diseases, religious and/or ethical objections, exactly who will benefit most from a vaccine and whom they might harm, preventing pandemics, possible medically adverse ingredients in vaccines, ethical concerns over some methods of vaccine preparation, the concern of some that over-exposure to vaccines early in life might overwhelm the immune system, natural immunity vs vaccine immunity, live vs dead viral components in vaccines, issues of informed consent, racial differences in disease susceptibility. Did I leave any out?

Vaccines are biological preparations designed to stimulate the recipient’s immune system causing it to produce proteins called antibodies against a particular microorganism. The antibodies are, in effect, weapons produced by the body to protect itself against invaders.

Some vaccines are built from proteins or other parts of the organism being targeted. Other vaccines use the entire organism in either a dead or greatly weakened form. All are intended to cause the body to violently say “This is not me!” and to learn how to attack this particular “Not Me.”

The idea is that, if an exposure to this particular “Not Me” later occurs, the body will remember the prior attack and will jump into action to produce massive quantities of the weapons it needs.

This blog post is about the Coronavirus vaccine for COVID-19. New vaccines are needed each year because coronaviruses are RNA (ribonucleic acid) viruses and mutate more quickly than DNA (deoxy-ribonucleic acid) viruses. Most of the mutations carry no consequences for the human host but a few give the virus significant advantages in ease of transmission or in severity of the disease. This occurs as errors in copying the virus’ genetic information cause changes in the organism’s surface proteins. These changes result in the surface proteins being different enough from prior versions that the body’s immune system thinks that they are a “Not Me” that it has not seen before.

Because of this, the immune system essentially has to start over and, so, cannot make a quick kill. This means that there is no pre-existing immunity to the new variant even though it is still the same virus.

Vaccines have to be developed each year because of that year’s new variants, which usually arise in Asia or India and then spread worldwide. The vaccines which are developed are actually guesses or assumptions that the virus variants which arrive in the West will still be the same ones for which the vaccine was developed. This can account for why some of the vaccines are more effective than others. 

_________________________________________________________________________________

            An aside: This process of the body's immune system attacking "Not Me" is what is involved in tissue rejection after organ transplants and also comes into play during pregnancy because the mother is "Me" and the child is "Not Me."

Follow the Science

        

        We have been told repeatedly to "follow the science," usually in connection to COVID-19 

immunization. That is good advice and my wife and I are fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and other 

viruses.

        To be fully consistent, there is another situation where I would hope that everyone would consider

following the science. 

        The human female produces ova (eggs) which her body recognizes as "me." Except in rare cases of

 autoimmune disease, the woman's body leaves the ovaries and the eggs alone. In autoimmune

oophoritis, the body's immune system attacks the ovaries causing inflammation, severe damage, and

fibrosis.

        Normally, when a sperm wins the frantic race to the egg, the egg immediately allows the 

spermatozoan to enter and mix its DNA with the DNA of the egg.  The mixture of DNA is 50% "me"

and 50% "not me."

        If the body is functioning properly it does not like "not me" and makes moves to get rid of "not 

me." It attacks "not me" to protect itself from viruses, bacteria, and other organisms like yeast or 

protozoa. This is the reason transplant patients have to take anti-rejection drugs. The transplanted 

tissues are "not me."

        To protect itself, the fertilized egg starts making masking proteins to tell the body "move on, 

there's nothing  to see here." The masking proteins hide the "not me." The body only sees the "me."

        Once the embryo implants and begins to increase in size, it becomes too "not me" to ignore. That's

where the placenta takes over. It has many functions but one function is to release hormones and other

factors to prevent rejection of the fetus. Remember that the fetus is "not me." So what you have is

mother ("me") and fetus ("not me.") 

        This is one reason why there is so much controversy over when the fetus becomes a separate,

 individual human.

 

Why Life Begins at Conception, Part 4

The sperm (from the father) and the egg (from the mother) each carry one half of the parent’s genetic information.  At fertilization, a full set of genetic information is present; the exact same full set of information which is present in every cell of the adult individual.  Between thirty and one hundred fifty million sperm compete to reach an egg after each sexual act.  Each one of these sperm carries one half of the full set of the father’s genetic information.

The fertilized egg begins almost immediately to reproduce itself. Each copy carries a  full set of genetic information; the exact same full set of information which is present in every cell of the adult individual.

The cells form a flattened disk called the blastodisc and a groove, the neural groove, develops in the middle of the disk.  The walls of the groove rise up and close together to form the neural tube.  The neural tube becomes the spinal cord.  Each cell in the structure carries a  full set of genetic information; the exact same full set of information which is present in every cell of the adult individual.

This short video is of a chicken embryo, but the process is exactly the same in the human embryo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuL2wUOZKf8&feature=related

At each step of the baby’s development every cell in the body carries a full set of genetic information; the exact same full set of information which is present in every cell of the adult individual.   If a blind DNA analysis were to be performed on two separately submitted specimens, on the embryo and on tissue taken from the mother, the result would be this: the analysis would show two individuals who were related genetically.  

Why Life Begins at Conception, Part 3

(The posts in this series may not occur on consecutive days but they will make the most sense to you if they are read in consecutive order.)

This is a very simplified presentation of human conception and the passage of genetic information from the parents to the offspring.  (An aside: how can any rational, normally intelligent person see this level of complexity and order and still deny at least the possibility of an intelligent designer?)

The information may seem to be complicated and overwhelming, but at least a simplified basic
understanding is necessary for a scientific attack on abortion.  That is what I will attempt to provide for you here.  It is necessary to start at the beginning, DNA (deoxy-ribonucleic acid).

DNA is a spiral molecule consisting of two strands paired together in the shape of a helix.  DNA is present in every cell of the human body and, in every one of those cells, the DNA contains ALL the information necessary to build and maintain the entire body.

DNA is a very complex and a very simple molecule.  It basically is two strands joined by matched pairs of bases.  Only four bases (adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine) are used.  Combinations of these four bases contain the entire genome; the genetic code which determines a person's hair color, voice, skin color, height, body type, number of fingers and toes, intelligence level, athletic ability, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. The code determines everything about your physical body.  Literally everything, and genetic science says that all that information about you as an individual is present from the moment of conception.

A very simplified explanation is this.  In the sperm and egg cells, each cell receives one strand of the two DNA strands.  At fertilization, the two strands join to form one complete strand.  So, half of the information comes from the mother and half from the father.  The fertilized egg then is a hybrid of the two source cells, made from them but entirely different from them;  a fully separate genetic code, a separate individual.

More in the next post.
.....................................
If you wish to know more, see these links.

Very good:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss3/DNA2.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss3/dna.html&h=543&w=351&sz=42&tbnid=8CP_Dkmi3Hub9M:&tbnh=84&tbnw=54&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dimage%2B%2526%2BDNA%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=image+%26+DNA&usg=__DNAoHOES8pL7lQS_Oaj3PGM13so=&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uDw6UOT9OY2s8QTIrYG4AQ&ved=0CCMQ9QEwBA

Simplified:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA

DNA to RNA to proteins

http://dna-rna.net/

Detailed information on proteins:

http://www2.chemistry.msu.edu:80/faculty/reusch/VirtTxtJml/proteins.htm

Chromosomes

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/D/Down.gif&imgrefurl=http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/C/Chromosomes.html&h=318&w=430&sz=29&tbnid=4sRt4QRwm30RKM:&tbnh=83&tbnw=112&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dimages%2B%2526%2Bchromosomes%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=images+%26+chromosomes&usg=__9giWb2_ajTIbvehrthPPLzjuZwA=&hl=en&sa=X&ei=hkA6UJ36EoT89gS6joGwCg&ved=0CBoQ9QEwAQ

http://images.yourdictionary.com/chromosome

Why Life Begins At Conception, Part 1

Over the next few days I will be posting, in several parts, on the subject, Why Life Begins at Conception.  The posts may not be on consecutive days but they will make the most sense to you if they are read in consecutive order. 

The subject has become a very hot topic in the United States because of the poorly thought out comments (I would say something more harsh except for the nature of this blog) of one of the current United States Representatives. 

The current controversy concerns abortion and certain types of contraception and the timing of when a developing fetus becomes “human.”  Does life begin at conception or sometime later in the pregnancy? Does the developing fetus have legal rights as a person?

The question is presented by many as a religious question, and it is, but a rational and scientific case can be made for opposition to abortion without any reference to religion.  Many people will not listen to a religious argument, but they might listen to a scientific one.

The posts in this series will present, in a highly simplified way, the scientific information necessary for a case against abortion and some forms of birth control.  Also, the very strong emotions of persons on both sides of the issue will be discussed.

1.     This is not, never has been, and never will be, a political blog.

2.     I am qualified to present this particular scientific information because my undergraduate degree is in biology with a concentration in developmental genetics and embryology.

Film Comment: Splice

"She's not human ... not entirely."  This is the tagline for the truly disturbing 2009 Canadian science fiction film, Splice , starring Academy Award winner (2002) Adrien Brody, Canadian actress Sarah Polley, and French actress Delphine Chaneac in the role as the adult creature/specimen/thing/woman.  When I saw this film , I heard someone say that they felt like they needed a bath upon leaving the theater. It is that intense, bizarre, and perverse.

A male-female genetic research team (Brody and Polley) at the Nucleic Exchange Research and Development laboratory (N.E.R.D.) are working on creating hybrid animals (mixing genetic material from several species) for medical use.  When their funding is threatened they rush to accelerate their results and secretly add human DNA (their own) to the mix.  A viable little bird-like thing results.  They name it Dren (N.E.R.D. spelled backwards) because the female researcher almost immediately takes a mothering attitude toward the creature and insists that it is not a "specimen."

Dren cannot speak, after all, she is an animal; she coos like a bird.  She proves to be inquisitive, intelligent, graceful, and she grows at an alarming rate.  She is an adult within days.  She is tall and slender with a beautifully innocent face, her knees bend backward instead of forward, her feet resemble hands, and she has a long prehensile tail tipped with a poisonous stinger.

As she matures, Dren becomes very noticeably female and increasingly seductive. "Poppa" makes the mistake of spending time alone with her and willingly/unwillingly ends up as the object of her intense attention.  Then his wife catches them.  He is having sex with his "daughter," he is having sex with an animal, he is having sex with himself.  Dren is all three.

This film touches on the subjects of cloning, responsibility toward our offspring, aberrant sexuality, intense self pride, and amoral scientific research just for the "science."  It is, in reality, a variant on the Frankenstein theme.

The most disturbing thing about this film is that it is on the edge of no longer being science fiction.  Much of science fiction eventually becomes science fact.  Jules Verne wrote of space travel and submarines; now they are established fact.  On the first Star Trek television series, the characters would reach into their pockets and pull out their personal communicators; we now call them cell phones.

Modern molecular biology can already insert DNA sequences into bacteria and cause them to produce synthetic chemicals they would normally not produce.  The entire human genome has now been deciphered with the prospect of the ability to insert healthy DNA sequences in place of faulty ones.  The mutant genetic sequence which causes the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus to be resistant to methicillin (MRSA) can be detected in one hour from a nasal swab.

Artificial life may be just around the corner.  It may already be here.  In 2010, Dr. John Craig Venter of Utah, USA announced the creation of an artificial bacterium using synthetic DNA.  His research is aimed at producing modified microorganisms which can produce clean fuels and biochemicals.

Christians believe that God is the Creator.  There are so many questions. What will it mean if man also is a creator?  What will God think of our glorification of the human intellect?  Does God intend for us to learn all things?   Are there things we should not learn?  Are there things we should not do even if they are possible? Do scientists bear any responsibility for their discoveries?  What if our science creates a Dren?

DNA explained for the layman

     Human reproduction is based on the incredibly complex chemical compound known as DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), which carries all of the genetic assembly, maintenance, and functional information for the human body, different and distinct for each individual human body, with the entire code present in every cell of the human body (except of course, the reproductive cells, which carry one-half of the genetic information.)

     The genetic information carried in DNA is coded using a sequence of four bases (adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine) arranged in pairs on opposing helical strands with molecular weights in the millions.  The number and sequence of base pairs enables millions of instruction to be encoded in each DNA strand.  This structure is simple and complex at the same time and its elucidation won the 1962 Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine for James D. Watson and Francis Crick.

   Strand-like paired structures (twenty three pairs of chromosomes in normal humans) found in human body cells each carry millions of coded instructions on the DNA strands of which they are constructed.  The chromosomes are duplicated when new cells are produced so that each new cell carries the same set of instructions as all others.  The two exceptions are the reproductive cells (spermatozoa and ova), which, instead of being diploid (two stranded) have only one DNA strand (haploid).   When the sperm fertilizes the egg (ovum) the individual (haploid) strands of DNA are united, producing an entirely new diploid individual related to,  but distinct from, the two source cells.  The new life can literally be said to be half from the mother and half from the father.

  

The abortion debate is not only based on religious beliefs

     A friend and I were talking  and somehow got onto the subject of abortion.  When I expressed my opposition to the practice he told me he was surprised at me.    He said, "You're so well read and seem to be intelligent.  How can you be anti-choice?"

     I pointed out to him that I am not anti-choice, I'm pro-life.  He started rolling out all the pro-abortion arguments.  And, he made the charge that only fundamentalist Christians and Roman Catholics oppose abortion; so, declaring that it was not necessary to invoke religion at all in the debate, I asked him a question.

     "If you take tissue from an aborted fetus and from the biological mother and submit the samples separately for DNA analysis and comparison, what will be the result?  ... The DNA analysis will demonstrate that the tissues came from two separate and totally distinct individuals.  Genetic science states that the fetus, from the moment of conception, is a separate life, not merely a patch of tissue in the mother's body."

     My friend admitted that this was true but the implications of that admission flew right over his head.  He resorted to the hypothetical game, "If your unmarried young daughter were ... "

     Many people of both liberal and conservative orientations stake a claim on a particular issue on ideology and become almost automatons, chanting the established mantra over and over.  They challenge any deviation from their particular orthodoxy.  Real argument, in the classical sense, is drowned out; they merely become louder with their chanting.  If you don't agree with them you must be an uneducated boob, hopelessly confused, or, worst of all, a bigot.

     It would be a positive step if we could all learn to argue with respect.  At the end of our argument my friend and I looked at one another and laughed, both of us sure that the other was wrong.  We're still friends.

 

 

     Pope Benedict has announced that bone fragments found in a white marble sarcophagus under the Basilica of St. Paul's Outside the Walls (Rome) have been dated to the late First Century or early Second Century.  The burial box contained bones, incense, blue cloth, and purple linen.  The site is the traditional burial place of the Apostle Paul and a cracked marble slab found there says in Latin, "Paul apostle martyr."  

      Church tradition says that Paul was beheaded in Rome.  It is claimed that bone fragments from his head are enshrined in Rome at St. John Lateran Basilica.  It would be very interesting to see if DNA analysis indicated that the bones from the two sites came from the same person.  It would be a strong indication that the bones might actually be from Paul.  Sadly, it would not be definitive proof.