Quote:
Originally Posted by FiftyBelow
Glad you agree 
Regardless, I never stated that zygotes are babies. However, they eventually do become babies if left uninterrupted within the womb. Immediately after conception, the zygote possesses all the necessary DNA required (half from father and half from mother) to develop. Therefore,the zygote already possesses its own unique combination of DNA which would allow it to develop into a full human person. In my opinion this is exactly the first moments of life. |
as a scientist, I have a problem with that definiton. Researchers culture human cells all the time. Billions of them in a little petri dish. Every single cell possesses all the necessary DNA required to develop. Surely, I am not aborting billions of humans each time I throw out a petri dish of cells.
I don't know where the line should be drawn. I've heard arguements from some academics (doctors/embryologists/bioethicists) who say when there is a heartbeat; others say much earlier when the primitive streak forms, or the neural tube forms or when the neural tube closes. The line should not be at the one cell stage. There are no human characteristics in a single cell - it is just a bag of chemicals and biomolecules.