Hendrik van der Breggen, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Providence University College
Otterburne, Manitoba, Canada
Abstract: Via his popular books—The Language of God and The Language of Life—Francis Collins, the current director of U.S. National Institutes of Health, attempts to persuade the general public that the human embryo is not a human being and thus its destruction (in publiclyfunded scientific research) is morally permissible. Collins, however, misuses language and misuses logic in his attempt to discern the beginning of human life. Because Collins’ NIH is presently killing human embryos mistakenly thinking they are not human beings (and is at time of writing contemplating animal/ human cross-species research using human embryos mistakenly thinking they are not human beings), this paper endeavors to point up and correct Francis Collins’ errors.