Core questions in abortion & stem cell debates: 1. When does human life become a human person?
2. What to do when we cannot reach a consensus?
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Quotations:
"Whether or not abortion should be legal turns on the answer to
the question of whether and at what point [an embryo or] a fetus is a person. This is a
question that cannot be answered logically or empirically. The concept
of personhood is neither logical nor empirical: It is essentially a
religious, or quasi-religious idea, based on one's fundamental (and
therefore unverifiable) assumptions about the nature of the world."
Paul Campos, professor of law at the University of Colorado. (2002) 1
"The real question today is not when human life begins, but,
'What is the value of human life?' The abortionist who reassembles the arms and legs of a tiny baby to make sure all its parts have been torn from its mother's body can hardly doubt whether it is a human being."
President Ronald Reagan, (1983). 2
This section describes various beliefs about when human personhood begins:
Introduction:
Overview; what pro-life & pro-choice groups agree and disagree on.
More info:
Terminology;
Spermatozoa, Ova & Zygotes
^^^ We recommend reading these two essays first. ^^^