Do you believe that life begins at conception, or further down the line in the pregnancy? If you believe the latter, then when would you say?

Life begins at conception.

I believe that life begins at conception…but…I don't believe that a embryo is a human until it becomes a fetus.

Nhaiyel wrote:

I believe that life begins at conception…but…I don't believe that a embryo is a human until it becomes a fetus.

Pretty much

First of all, let me preface by saying that I am largely pro-life and I'm against abortion except in cases of rape, incest or when the mother's life would be endangered. Having said that,

Life is constant. There is technically no "beginning" of any life that reproduces sexually. Sperm is alive and so are eggs because they are both made from living tissue. Therefore life "begins" with the parents own living cells. When embryonic life becomes its own separate being (ie: a person) is debatable. But it is most definitely NOT at conception.

Biologically speaking, an individual's life, and consequently their "right to life" begins at the earliest on day 22 after conception. It's not a question of belief, it's a matter of scientific fact. That is when the blood of the embryo can be differentiated from the mother's own blood and when the heart of the embryo starts beating for the first time. At any period before this, an embryo is simply a collection of living cells implanted in the uterine wall. By no rational, biological argument could it be considered a "person" at that point anymore than a tumor could be considered a person.

When the embryo does become a person at day 22, (and the rest of this is purely opinion) it doesn't become a person capable of individual thought and consciousness (ie: have a soul) until week six after conception. This is based on the fact that it isn't until this stage when separate brain waves are detectable. At that point, the central nervous system has developed enough to where the fetus is capable of processing information (feeling and thinking). It is at this point or at anytime thereafter that I believe a fetus should have all the rights of any other person and that abortion should be considered "murder".

Despite all of this, I'm still against abortion at any stage with the exception of the three aforementioned reasons.

Nhaiyel wrote:

I believe that life begins at conception…but…I don't believe that a embryo is a human until it becomes a fetus.

I believe at conception.