---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I saw the embryo, I suddenly…"
description: "\"When I saw the embryo, I suddenly realized there was such a small difference between it and my daughters. I thought, we can't keep destroying embryos f..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d80/shinya-yamanaka-37352_another-way_when-i-saw-the-embryo-i-suddenly-realize_1073871.png"
---

#  When I saw the embryo, I suddenly realized there was such…

![“When I saw the embryo, I suddenly realized there was such a small difference between it and my daughters. I thought, we can't keep destroying embryos for our research. There must be another way.” quote by Shinya Yamanaka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d80/shinya-yamanaka-37352_another-way_when-i-saw-the-embryo-i-suddenly-realize_1073871.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d80/shinya-yamanaka-37352_another-way_when-i-saw-the-embryo-i-suddenly-realize_1073871.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d80/shinya-yamanaka-37352_another-way_when-i-saw-the-embryo-i-suddenly-realize_1073871.png)

> “When I saw the embryo, I suddenly realized there was such a small difference between it and my daughters. I thought, we can't keep destroying embryos for our research. There must be another way.”

[Shinya Yamanaka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinya-yamanaka/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Seeing an embryo highlighted the tiny line between life and research, prompting a moral objection to destroying embryos for science and a call for alternatives.

**In simple terms:** Embryos feel like a sibling, so killing them feels wrong.

Key Takeaway

Seek non‑embryonic research methods.

Themes

ethics science life responsibility

Mood

reflective concerned

Type

ethical scientific philosophical

When to use this quote

- lab policy decisions
- public debate
- grant funding
- educational curricula

Key Concepts

stem cell research moral philosophy alternatives

Questions to Reflect On

- What alternatives can replace embryo use?
- How do we balance innovation with moral values?

A Different Perspective

Some argue scientific progress may outweigh individual embryo concerns.

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[Another way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-way/) [Daughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daughter/) [Destroying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying/) [Destroying Embryos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying-embryos-2688430/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Embryo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embryo/) [Embryo Suddenly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embryo-suddenly-2688431/) [Embryos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embryos/) [Embryos Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embryos-research-2688432/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [My daughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-daughter/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Saws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saws/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/)

## Related quotes

> [I thought, we can’t keep destroying embryos for our research. There must be another way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinya-yamanaka/i-thought-we-can-t-keep-destroying-embryos-for-our-research-there/)

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> [All of us from fertile egg to embryo to corpse, are exactly that: warm, wet, furry animals compelled by the sexuality of our forefathers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-margulis/all-of-us-from-fertile-egg-to-embryo-to-corpse-are-exactly-that-warm/)

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> [The 'missing link' between ape and man will probably never be found- because it was an embryo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-missing-link-between-ape-and-man-will-probably-never-be-found/)

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> [Now, an embryo may seem like some scientific or laboratory term, but, in fact, the embryo contains the unique information that defines a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-akin/now-an-embryo-may-seem-like-some-scientific-or-laboratory-term-but-in/)

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> [Clearly, there is some invisible force that is moving every aspect of reality to its next best expression. And the universe is not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/clearly-there-is-some-invisible-force-that-is-moving-every-aspect-of/)

[Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/)

> [Every person is a God in embryo. Its only desire is to be born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/every-person-is-a-god-in-embryo-its-only-desire-is-to-be-born/)

[Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/)

> [A zygote is the beginning of a new human being (i.e., an embryo).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-l-moore/a-zygote-is-the-beginning-of-a-new-human-being-i-e-an-embryo/)

[Keith L. Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-l-moore/)

> [ I'm old enough to make you look like an embryo. \[Thorn\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/i-m-old-enough-to-make-you-look-like-an-embryo-thorn/)

[Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/)

> [Life is rather a state of embryo, a preparation for life; a man is not completely born till he has passed through death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/life-is-rather-a-state-of-embryo-a-preparation-for-life-a-man-is-not/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [It is therefore proper to acknowledge that the first filaments of the chick preexist in the egg and have a deeper origin, exactly as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcello-malpighi/it-is-therefore-proper-to-acknowledge-that-the-first-filaments-of-the/)

[Marcello Malpighi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcello-malpighi/)

> [It's important to us to see the development and growth. At the end of the day, it's our baby. Genetically it's ours. It's our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-rancic/it-s-important-to-us-to-see-the-development-and-growth-at-the-end-of/)

[Bill Rancic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-rancic/)

> [Even in civilized communities, the embryo man passes through the hunter stage of development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/even-in-civilized-communities-the-embryo-man-passes-through-the/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [I'm still an embryo with a long long way to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-m-still-an-embryo-with-a-long-long-way-to-go/)

[Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/)

> [BTW A 24 week old embryo is not a human being. You're not a human being until you're in my phone book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/btw-a-24-week-old-embryo-is-not-a-human-being-you-re-not-a-human/)

[Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/)

> [Patients' lives are more important than embryos. I do want to avoid the use of embryos if possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinya-yamanaka/patients-lives-are-more-important-than-embryos-i-do-want-to-avoid-the/)

[Shinya Yamanaka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinya-yamanaka/)

## More by Shinya Yamanaka

> [Patients' lives are more important than embryos. I do want to avoid the use of embryos if possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinya-yamanaka/patients-lives-are-more-important-than-embryos-i-do-want-to-avoid-the/)

[Shinya Yamanaka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinya-yamanaka/)

> [I thought, we can’t keep destroying embryos for our research. There must be another way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinya-yamanaka/i-thought-we-can-t-keep-destroying-embryos-for-our-research-there/)

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> [Researchers should always consider ethical concerns on scientific research and disclose their data to the public. Scientists also need to discuss issues surrounding their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinya-yamanaka/researchers-should-always-consider-ethical-concerns-on-scientific/)

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> [IPS cells can become a powerful tool to develop new drugs to cure intractable diseases because they can be made from patients' somatic cells.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinya-yamanaka/ips-cells-can-become-a-powerful-tool-to-develop-new-drugs-to-cure/)

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> [My goals over the decade include to develop new drugs to treat intractable diseases by using iPS cell technology and to conduct clinical trials…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinya-yamanaka/my-goals-over-the-decade-include-to-develop-new-drugs-to-treat/)

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> [I think that in the 21st century, medical biology will advance at a more rapid pace than before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinya-yamanaka/i-think-that-in-the-21st-century-medical-biology-will-advance-at-a/)

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> [I like the freedom of research. Plus, if I fail in science, I know I can always survive because I have an M.D. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinya-yamanaka/i-like-the-freedom-of-research-plus-if-i-fail-in-science-i-know-i-can/)

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> [There is no way now to get around some use of embryos. But my goal is to avoid using them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinya-yamanaka/there-is-no-way-now-to-get-around-some-use-of-embryos-but-my-goal-is/)

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