Quotations:

• "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). ₁
  
  
• "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) ₂>
  
  
• "In a world where man must learn more and more to recognize and to respect his brother. The [Catholic] Church wishes to make her own contribution to the service of the human community, while pointing out ... the relation that binds each person to the Creator of all life and the source of the inalienable dignity of each person, from conception to life's natural end." (Emphasis ours) Pope Benedict XVI (2005) ₃

This section describes various beliefs about when human personhood begins, and attempts to legislate those beliefs:

• 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. ^^^
  
  
• Conflicting beliefs about when personhood starts:
  
  
  • It happens at conception -- the most common pro-life position
    
    
  • It happens when blood first appears -- an interpretation based on the Bible
    
    
  • It happens later in pregnancy -- the most common pro-choice positions
    
    
    • Beliefs expressed in U.S. law and among different faith groups
      
      
    • Secular beliefs that personhood occurs during pregnancy
      
      
    • It happens at 14 or 22 weeks gestation -- two additional arguments based on brain activity and pregnancy stability
      
      
  • Full personhood happens during childbirth -- the traditional Jewish position
    
    
  • Diverse views about when personhood beginnings: A wide-ranging analysis donated by Dr. Sanford Aranoff
    
    
• What the laws of the U.S. and Canada say
  
  
• Is a consensus possible? Will it ever be possible?
  
  
• U.S. state and federal "fetal homicide" (a.k.a. "unborn victim") legislation
  
  
• "Personhood amendments:" Attempts to define the start of human personhood in state Constitutons and laws
  

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References used:

1. President Ronald Reagan, "Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation," The Human Life Review, 1983-Spring, Online at: http://www.nationalreview.com/
2. Paul Campos, "Opinions: PAUL CAMPOS: Abortion and the rule of law ," Scripps Howard News Service, 2002-JAN, at: http://www.nandotimes.com
3. "Dignity of man, from conception until natural death, is primary, says Pope," Catholic News Agency, 2005-JUN-01, at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/

Copyright © 1995 to 2012 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2012-FEB-21
Author: B.A. Robinson

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