When Does Life Begin? When are you a person?

[Hinchy]

I think we're really getting into an argument over semantics here.

We are not arguing over the definition of life figuratively (as in, "Is x person really living?" or "X has no life.").

We are arguing over the literal definition of life. As in, "When is someone born?".

My view? It's alive as soon as it can process thoughts. That doesn't mean it has to be out of the womb, certainly not, but it's not alive when it's a single DNA strand, either.

 

[CrapFactory]

It's absolutely ridiculous to say that you're not a person until birth. So if there's a premie and it's born 2 months early it's human but if there's another one that's 9 months and not born it's not? Completely ridiculous.

The line from HUMAN to NOT HUMAN is obviously somewhere. I'm talking about thought-wise at the most basic human level. The ability to survive outside the womb and be born scientifically has nothing to do with it. That's just when the majority of your experiences begin. There's no "on switch" that happens when you're born. You're learning and experiencing well before birth.

The fetus's brain seems to "start up" at about 8 weeks. Now I'm not saying it's human right then. I don't know. That's just brainwaves and the thought might come later (with the brainwaves possibly controlling automatic functions). But this opens up the possibility that the thing is human at 8 weeks. It might not have a "sense of self" human before then. However there's evidence against that too. They've seen 4-6 week old fetuses waving their hands and responding to stimuli which suggests that they have capable brians, though not measurable by our normal tools, and they are very active. This may be on auto but it's possible they develop basic human thinking far earlier then 8 weeks (really basic at this point).

Basically I used to be pro-choice. Now I'm mostly pro-life (there are exceptions to every rule). Hey, I could be wrong and a fetus might become self aware much later but certainly NOT as late as birth and at the latest probably sometime in the 2nd Trimester but likely way before that. Better safe then sorry. If you're wrong it's the difference between life and death and I for one think that nobody has a right to kill the things once they've reached a more human stage, not even the ones who are pregnant with them. It represents a complete lack of responsibility and selfishness. But that's a whole other issue because I've met people (mostly ladies) who basically feel that if it's in them they can kill it even if it's 9 1/2 months and not out yet. They're ridiculous.


That said I don't really think it's human right when the sperm touches the egg or even for a while after that. If you get an abortion get one nice and very early. You're probably safe. :angel:


And people STOP asking "when is it alive?" because scientifically the sperm is alive and the egg is alive and when they combine they're alive and it's LIFE. I think the better question is when does it's MIND become Human and when does it become self aware?

 

[jacob]

Jeremiah 1:5
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

 

[CrapFactory]

Jeremiah 1:5
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

I respect religion and am religious myself but we can't use religion to give reason. It's like speaking in Spanish to someone who only knows Japanese. Scientific fact is basically a universal language and then we go onto tangible morals and ethics and values which can be filled with as many religious beliefs you want or whatever. Otherwise it's "Religion vs Other Religion vs Atheists" in a battle royal instead of "hey, lets look at the physical evidence and form as good of a hypotheses as we can then try to use tangible reasoning". After all that we can bring in the morals, ethics and values. So by the end each side has a better understanding of why each side thinks a certain way. Because just quoting scripture gets NOWHERE with people who don't care for scripture. You've gotta start somewhere else.

 

[jacob]

My purpose in posting that scripture was to share my opinion (which I believed to be the point of this topic) about when life begins. Admittedly, most of the world is either A) non-christian or B) unfamiliar with what Christianity really teaches, so that scripture (and dozens of others) help define what true Christians believed about life and abortion.

 

[Marc1k1]

As soon as you can remember, That is when you are truley alive....

yeah, epic speech man!!

No but seroiusly, Who remembers being born?, Who remembers when they where 1 or 2? no one... I furthest back I can remember was when I was 3 I cant remeber anything before that.

BUT before anybody comes out with it NO that dose not mean I justify killing babies or anything like that, I am NOT agienst abortion althought I thinks its wrong if left for the baby to grow before the abortion... just incase that came up to :P

Technically and Personnaly I think life begins when the heart begins to beat.
(THATS what I really believe I was just stating something with all that other stuff ^_^')

Think of it without a heartbeat we are dead, So really dosent it make sense that we trualy become alive when the heart begins to beat.

 

[Gray]

I think you're alive whenever your heart beats for the first time.

You have a soul when you're self aware.

You're a person when you've developed a personality.