When Does Human Life Begin?

[Accountable]

I'm torn. I'm not certain if the sperm penetrating the egg actually establishes life, but it is certain where the first sign of life is evidenced. Life begins when the cell splits the first time. The human being is alive in that environment conducive to it's growth. The argument of viability is moot. Sure, taking him/her out of that environment would kill him/her, but taking an undeniably living fish out of water will kill the fish, too.

If US politicians listened to scientists and fact as closely as they listen to irrational arguments from voters, they would recognize that privileges and protections of citizenship, given at birth, ought to be given at life. Of course, these youngest of citizens won't be voters until these politicians are retired, so they don't count.

Let the fireworks begin.

[Benjamin]

Is the moment life begins really the issue? We kill living things all the time for food and sometimes even sport and there's no religious uproar over that. There are some who say when God created man in his image some 6,000 years ago, what that meant was God gave man a soul at that point, even though man had already existed on earth for thousands of years. So the question is, when does a person develop a soul? I doubt when the cell splits for the first time it has a soul. The fetus has no soul. The soul only exists from the moment of birth.

Then again, if the Broncos don't win today, there is no god, so the whole point is moot.

[Peg]

This is one of those topics where everyone has an opinion yet there is no right or wrong answer. Scientists can't even agree on an answer. My opinion? Life begins the moment the sperm penetrates the egg.

[Accountable]

Originally Posted by Benjamin

Is the moment life begins really the issue? We kill living things all the time for food and sometimes even sport and there's no religious uproar over that. There are some who say when God created man in his image some 6,000 years ago, what that meant was God gave man a soul at that point, even though man had already existed on earth for thousands of years. So the question is, when does a person develop a soul? I doubt when the cell splits for the first time it has a soul. The fetus has no soul. The soul only exists from the moment of birth.

Then again, if the Broncos don't win today, there is no god, so the whole point is moot.

What makes you so sure the fetus has no soul? What is the moment of birth - first exposure to air or first breath?

[pina]

For what its worth my opinion is:.......Life starts from when the baby can live outside the mothers body whether it can manage on its own or needs help.

[Accountable]

Originally Posted by pina

For what its worth my opinion is:.......Life starts from when the baby can live outside the mothers body whether it can manage on its own or needs help.

How is living with the aid of machines more "alive" than living with the aid of embryonic fluid and umbilical cord?

[chonsigirl]

Life begins at conception, when the sperm penetrates the eggs and unite to form the beginning of a new life.

When its recognizably human... little fingers and toes, etc.

[Katy1]

I would say at the point of consciousness. When the foetus becomes aware of it's surroundings.

An early embryo has no limbs; no head; no brain; no ability to see, hear, smell, taste or touch; no internal organs, no self-consciousness, no ability to think, reason, sense its environment, etc. Even at the age of one month, a human embryo cannot be distinguished from that of a cat or dog.

To be a person to me means to be able to think, have a moral sense, and to be physically different to our fellow humans.

I would say that 'personhood' occurs somewhere between 12 and 16 weeks when the foetus starts to develop individual features that make it stand apart from other foetus'. It is at about this point that 'flutterings' or limb movement can be detected.

This question is a philosophical one and also one of science, but I don't think there is, or ever will be a general concencus as some people and religions will deem life as from the time that the cell divides. If this were the case (and I strongly believe to the contrary) it would have serious moral implications for stem cell research for which I am an advocate (and have donated umbilical cord stem cells after the birth of both of my children)

[Sheryl]

To me is when it's fetus's hearts starts beating. If I recall thats around 4 to 6 weeks.