When does human personhood begin?

Conflicting belief systems

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A newly formed zygote:
(commonly referred to as a "just-fertilized ovum")

Overview:

The two objects that need to be present to start a pregnancy -- an ovum and a single spermatozoon -- are usually considered to be of little value in themselves. In contrast, a consensus exists that an infant is the most precious form of life on earth, and needs to be protected under law. At conception, at birth, or at some time between, a new human person is present. After personhood is achieved, terminating life through an abortion is, by definition, a form of murder which some people believe can never be justified. Others feel that such an abortion is a moral act if it is needed to prevent the death of the woman, or perhaps if it will prevent her from becoming permanently disabled, or  prevent extremely serious injury to her health. Some would also allow an abortion in cases of rape or incest. Still others feel that an abortion can be a moral act for other reasons.

Unfortunately, there is no consensus of when human personhood starts. Even if there were, there is no agreement on the conditions under which an abortion of that new person should be allowed.

Science can tell us, with increasing detail, the processes that start with a sperm and ovum and end up with a newborn baby. But it cannot tell us:

These are questions with philosophical, religious and political aspects. Science cannot contribute a great deal towards resolving them. And because these questions have a religious component, the diversity of faith groups in North America assures that there will always be a wide variety of beliefs based on conflicting religious teachings.

Some beliefs about the timing of personhood:

A variety of conflicting beliefs is listed below, with links to more detailed essays:

Is a compromise on abortion possible?

No consensus and no compromise on the morality of abortion appears possible:

The medical profession appears to follow the viability criteria. Medical societies enforce regulations prohibiting essentially all abortions after (typically) 20 or 21 weeks of pregnancy. The US Supreme Court also seems to have used fetal viability as a significant event; it allows states relative freedom to prohibit abortions after viability for a wide range of reasons.

Public opinion surveys give conflicting results, depending upon the precise wording of the questions asked. It would appear that a significant majority of adults in the US and Canada agree that a woman should have free access to a safe abortion in at least the first trimester.

In Canada and many countries of Europe, an uneasy peace exists. Abortion is legal and widely available. It is funded by universal government health care plans in many jurisdictions. Abortion is generally accepted as a woman's right. However, many religious followers are pro-life and strongly believe that women should choose to continue their pregnancies. Their opposition only rarely includes anti-choice demonstrations. Clinic blockades, bombings, shootings are almost unknown. The future status of abortion access in the U.S. is unclear, and depends largely on the choice of new justices to be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, perhaps in 2005. This is expected to move the court in a very conservative direction. They may well overturn Roe v. Wade and restore decisions on abortion access to the states.

This essay continues below.

This section is being updated

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References:

1. The color microphotograph of a just-fertilized ovum shown by permission from Dr. R. C. Wagner, Department of Biological Sciences, at the University of Delaware, Newark, DE. They have many other photographs at their Web page: http://www.udel.edu/ We thank Dr. Wagner for allowing us to reproduce these microphotographs.
2. "State Homicide Laws That Recognize Unborn Victims," National Right to Life Committee, at: http://www.nrlc.org/
3. "U.S. House Passes Bill to Recognize Unborn Child as Second Victim of Violent Crimes, 254-163;
   Sharon Rocha Rebukes Senate Democrats for Obstruction," National Right to Life Committee, 2004-FEB-26, at: http://www.nrlc.org/