NC - I agree. The assertion that a new human being comes into being at the instant of fertilisation has more to do with religious bias than biology.
I have said that I am trying to look at this from a scientific pov. I keep asking the question though, about when? What are your suggestions?
There are lots of things to choose from:
First breath?
First heartbeat?
Brain activity ( I considered this today, when thinking about the opposite... brain death)?
Implantation?
Many other things that I can't think of?
I want to come back to my earlier point about birth control. A secondary mechanism of the mini-pill and the IUD is to prevent the implantation of a fertilised egg. Many of those who insist that a zygote is a human life fail to behave in a consistent way in this regard. I wonder if its because they will never know how many times their birth control aborted a zygote whereas abortion, even at a very early stage, involves a deliberate decision and action.
This is inconclusive (at least regarding the birth control pill). There is no scientific evidence that it does prevent implantation of a fertilized egg (if I have been reading all of these information threads on the pill correctly). The scientific community only has to admit that it is possible, in the face of no evidence.
Now had I known of this possibility, I would not have used the pill way back when. I think that is why people are getting more vocal about the fact that there is NO evidence that the pill does prevent implantation if fertilization occurs. I would never have considered the morning after pill for the same reason.
Peace,
Tammy
