The purpose of this book is to discuss and present evidence for the general thesis that the flow of energy through a system acts to organize that sys… - Harold J. Morowitz

All forms of life are related to each other, and the basic mechanisms that drive all of them are the same.

We recognize that to many people such a statement of cold biological fact misses something essential about the developing fetus. We recognize that there is a strong inclination to assign personhood or a soul to the single cell that results from fertilization on the grounds that it represents “potential life.” Our position is that this inclination, as strongly as it may be favored on religious or social grounds, has no basis in science because, as we point out in Chapter 1, personhood and soul are simply not scientific concepts.

It is clearly in the best interests of everyone involved that these decisions be made with a maximum of compassion, a minimum of bureaucratic intervention, and the absence of attorneys.