Viral Bill Nye ‘Science Guy’ Video Claims Fertilized Eggs Are Not Humans; Pro-Lifers Push Back

A video on social media of Bill Nye, known as “The Science Guy,” asserting that fertilized eggs are not humans, has gone viral and has caused pro-lifers to push back against his claims.

In the video, recently shared by Big Think and having 33 million views as of press time, Nye remarked that eggs accept sperm all the time, but that in order for a fertilized egg to develop, it must attach to the uterine wall.

“If you’re going to say, ‘When an egg is fertilized it [has] the same rights as an individual,’ then whom are you going to sue? Whom are you going to imprison? Every woman whose had a fertilized egg pass through her? Every guy whose sperm has fertilized an egg and it didn’t become a human? Have all these people failed you?” he asked.

“It’s just a reflection of a deep scientific lack of understanding. You apparently literally don’t know what you’re talking about,” Nye claimed. “You wouldn’t know how big a human egg was if it weren’t for microscopes, if it weren’t for scientists [or] medical researchers looking diligently. You wouldn’t know the process. You wouldn’t have that famous shots where the sperm are bumping up against the egg—you wouldn’t have that without science.”

“So, to claim that you know the next step when you obviously don’t is troubling,” he said.

Nye opined that while no one likes abortion, people shouldn’t tell others what to do.

“Recommending or insisting on abstinence has been completely ineffective,” he contended. “Closing abortion clinics, not giving women access to birth control, has been an ineffective way to lead to healthier societies.”

“I understand that you have deeply-held beliefs, and it really is ultimately out of respect for people—in this case, your perception of unborn people,” Nye stated, but added, “I really encourage you to look at the facts.”

He asserted that there are other problems to solve in the world besides abortion.

“My mother was a woman, just for example,” Nye said. “They’re everywhere.”

The video was apparently first recorded and shared on YouTube in 2015, but an edited version was just recently posted to Big Think’s Facebook page. Click here to view the Jan. 27 post. 

The Facebook upload resulted in over a thousand comments from those on both sides of the issue, including pro-life Americans who said that it is instead Nye who is wrong.

“As an ultrasound tech, I can tell you from scanning a 5.5 week old ‘fertilized egg’ that I see its heartbeat. At 9 weeks, it’s forming limbs. And [at] 15, I can see the sex in some and the legs, arms, organs—and yes, its a baby, fully,” wrote Melissa Crise. “I can tell you lots of things you’ll never hear of because I scan these babies from 5.5 weeks until 40. From an engineer, I find it disgraceful you are a voice of science, especially when you speak about subjects you know nothing about.”

“A fertilized egg is an egg that has been chosen to form and grow into a baby. A month after, there is a full heartbeat and if you see an ultrasound or any xray, you will see the body, the forming bones,” also remarked Kayla Cloutier. “By this understanding from Bill Nye, it is offensive to ask pregnant women if they have a name or gender for the baby, because it isn’t a baby yet, it’s just bleh. Don’t buy any clothing or set up the room; you don’t have a baby, its just an egg. It’s not a baby. I remember seeing a premature baby at 12 weeks. 12 weeks out of the womb, she was moving; she had a heartbeat. She was very well alive.”

“I see your sleight of hand. … If an egg is fertilized and then passed, it was passed naturally. But why do you stop at fertilization? Fertilization doesn’t always equal pregnancy,” likewise commented Isreal Salinas. “What most logical people … talk about is when the egg implants itself into the uterine wall. At that point, the process of development will begin. And there is a big difference between an egg passing naturally, and electing to destroy the human life growing.”

As previously reported, although Nye describes himself as “The Science Guy,” his background rather is in mechanical engineering, and he only holds “honorary doctorate of science” degrees from supportive educational institutions. He routinely uses his platform to promote evolution and criticize the biblical creation account.