The life of a unique individual human being begins at fertilization according to the American College of Pediatricians.
This is made clear by a review of the scientific literature, legislative testimony from scientists, an international study of biologists’ views on when a human’s life begins, and statements by abortion doctors and advocates [Brief of Biologists as Amici Curiae in Dobbs vs Jackson – Page 14].
If there was not a living and growing human being in the woman’s womb, there would be no baby that people worry about and no question of abortion to begin with. Abortion aims to end the life of a growing human being. So the fact that abortion ends a developing human being’s life is self evident.
But supporters of abortion say that it is a religious view to say that the life of a human being begins at conception. Therefore, let us look at what natural science says about the beginning of a human life.
When Do Biologists Say Human Life Begins
In order to determine what biologists say about the beginning of human life, let us look at the Amici Curiae Brief submitted by Biologists in the Dobbs vs Jackson Supreme Court case which overturned Roe vs Wade.
96% of 5,577 biologists from 1,058 academic institutions affirmed that a human’s life begins at fertilization [Brief of Biologists as Amici Curiae in Dobbs vs Jackson – Page 24].
“Peer-reviewed journals present the fertilization view on when a human’s life begins as a fact that requires no explanation or citation” and that “they do not know of a viable alternative view in the scientific literature” [Brief of Biologists as Amici Curiae in Dobbs vs Jackson – Pages 18 and19].
French geneticist Dr. Jerome Lejeune testified that “life has a very, very long history, but each individual has a very neat beginning––the moment of its conception” because “to accept the fact that after fertilization has taken place a new human has come into being is no longer a matter of taste or of opinion . . . it is plain experimental evidence.” [Brief of Biologists as Amici Curiae in Dobbs vs Jackson – Page 23].
“Physicians, biologists, and other scientists agree that conception marks the beginning of the life of a human being—of a being that is alive and is a member of the human species. There is overwhelming agreement on this point in countless medical, biological, and scientific writings.” [Brief of Biologists as Amici Curiae in Dobbs vs Jackson – Page 22].
Rejecting the fertilization view, or accepting a different view, would require redefining or re-conceptualizing what it means to be a biological human [Brief of Biologists as Amici Curiae in Dobbs vs Jackson – Page 15]
When Do Abortion Advocates Say That A Human Life Begins
Let us turn again to the Amici Curiae Brief:
Abortion advocates and abortion doctors affirm that a human’s life begins at fertilization [Brief of Biologists as Amici Curiae in Dobbs vs Jackson – Page 28].
Proponents of abortion rights have conceded that there is no credible opposition
to the scientific observation that fertilization marks the moment at, and process by which, a human begins his or her physical existence as an organism with a human genome developing in the human life cycle [Brief of Biologists as Amici Curiae in Dobbs vs Jackson – Page 29].
It must also be noted that in the submission of evidence in one of the most important legal cases on regulating abortion [i.e. Dobbs vs Jackson], there was not a single brief submitted contesting the evidence that human life begins at conception.
This shows that the claim that we don’t know when human life begins is not a serious claim and is not made in serious discussions or legal cases on abortion.
Why Do Abortion Advocates Claim That We Don’t Know When Human Life Begins
As has been shown above, abortion advocates do not make this claim in serious discussions or legal cases on abortion, because:
“The scientific fact, which everyone really knows, that human life begins at conception” [Brief of Biologists as Amici Curiae in Dobbs vs Jackson – Page 19].
But they make this claim when discussing abortion with the general population.
Why do they do this? Why make this claim if it is not a serious claim?
The claim is not made for scientific reasons, but for political reasons. It is meant to:
- Make abortion more acceptable in the minds of women who would not abort their babies if they knew that it is a human baby.
- Sway popular opinion for abortion and to make abortion justifiable in the minds of the people [who are not familiar with the matter] and to thus try to legalize abortion through the political process.
Therefore, it is entirely dishonest – not to mention unscientific – to claim that we don’t know when human life begins.
It therefore follows that abortion ends the life of an individual and unrepeatable human being.
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