Where does life begin?

LibertiORDeth · Sep 17, 2008

This post isn't intending to so start a pro-choice vs. pro-life debate, I am just curious has to whether or not science has been able to definitely prove where life begins. I am pro-life, since so far to my knowledge it has not been proved where life starts, thus we have to assume that life begins at conception until shown otherwise. If this changes or has changed I would thus like to know.
Also when I gave this reasoning to my friend, she said that we can't follow this since the female body "aborts" unfertilized eggs, and that life could very easily begin then and this is thus abortion. How do I argue with this?

Truth Warrior · Sep 17, 2008

Usually with sex.

Kade · Sep 17, 2008

Life began billions of years ago, and it has yet to cease. Life is a chain, and we are one piece of that chain... who knows how long it lasts.. maybe forever, maybe not.

SnappleLlama · Sep 17, 2008

Human life technically begins with the union of a sperm and an egg. Everything else...is politics.

FrankRep · Sep 17, 2008

Do we even exist at all?

:rolleyes:

ShowMeLiberty · Sep 17, 2008

snapplellama said:
human life technically begins with the union of a sperm and an egg. Everything else...is politics.

qft

Kade · Sep 17, 2008

SnappleLlama said:
Human life technically begins with the union of a sperm and an egg. Everything else...is politics.

Does it? Is a sperm alive?

Is an egg?

If not, why not?

orafi · Sep 17, 2008

Kade said:
Does it? Is a sperm alive?

Is an egg?

If not, why not?

yup

dannno · Sep 17, 2008

SnappleLlama said:
Human life technically begins with the union of a sperm and an egg. Everything else...is politics.

Why doesn't it begin when that egg is released and that sperm are first produced whilst a couple swoons over each other? There is a whole lot of chemistry happening, and the baby is already inevitable..the attraction process has begun, no stopping it now.. What about when the couple first meets and has that magical moment? The union of the egg and sperm is just another step of the process.

The question is when does the fetus take on the characteristics of life, because I don't think that happens at conception.. and what exactly is life?

nate895 · Sep 17, 2008

According to science, prior to the 1830s advance in microscope technology, the start of life was defined as the first kick from the baby, until that point, a woman could legally obtain an abortion. When the microscope advanced and they checked the fetuses they were aborting, they determined that they met their standard of life, and legislatures across the globe banned abortion totally with the exception of saving the life of the mother.

SnappleLlama · Sep 17, 2008

Kade said:
Does it? Is a sperm alive?

Is an egg?

If not, why not?

Personally, I'm just basing it on chromosomes. Both egg and sperm carry 23 chromosomes, and when they unite, the result is a 46 chromosomal being, i.e., a human (obviously there are exceptions for humans with birth defects, but I don't know enough about that, so I'm not going pretend I do!).

As for eggs and sperm individually being "alive?" Hmm...that's a good one. I'll have to think on it.

SnappleLlama · Sep 17, 2008

dannno said:
Why doesn't it begin when that egg is released and that sperm are first produced whilst a couple swoons over each other? There is a whole lot of chemistry happening, and the baby is already inevitable..the attraction process has begun, no stopping it now.. What about when the couple first meets and has that magical moment? The union of the egg and sperm is just another step of the process.

The question is when does the fetus take on the characteristics of life, because I don't think that happens at conception.. and what exactly is life?

Biologically, life can't start when people first meet and have a magical doublemint twins moment

Philosophically, however, is a different story.

Highland · Sep 17, 2008

Dr. Paul explained it at Bob Jones University...and we filmed it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTjccxVZ8B0

Kade · Sep 17, 2008

dannno said:
Why doesn't it begin when that egg is released and that sperm are first produced whilst a couple swoons over each other? There is a whole lot of chemistry happening, and the baby is already inevitable..the attraction process has begun, no stopping it now.. What about when the couple first meets and has that magical moment? The union of the egg and sperm is just another step of the process.

The question is when does the fetus take on the characteristics of life, because I don't think that happens at conception.. and what exactly is life?

You are growing on me danno. This is exactly what I am saying as well... it's a process, and who decides the arbitrary moment? Are they using science? Most of these people hate science... are they using common sense? who is the arbiter... A sperm is alive by all definition of life...

So is our skin cells.

nate895 · Sep 17, 2008

Kade said:
Does it? Is a sperm alive?

Is an egg?

If not, why not?

The only difference is that they are still of the same DNA as the person where they came from. As soon as they meet and begin to develop, their DNA changes. Of course in the first few days, the body has the ability to naturally abort a zygote if it is inviable, as most zygotes are.

Kade · Sep 17, 2008

Highland said:
Dr. Paul explained it at Bob Jones University...and we filmed it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTjccxVZ8B0

Dr. Paul speaks for me occasionally, but he does not speak for me always.

Kade · Sep 17, 2008

nate895 said:
The only difference is that they are still of the same DNA as the person where they came from. As soon as they meet and begin to develop, their DNA changes. Of course in the first few days, the body has the ability to naturally abort a zygote if it is inviable, as most zygotes are.

What about skin cells then. They are alive. They have the EXACT DNA of the person. Should that be protected then too?

rpfan2008 · Sep 17, 2008

Hoyle infamously compared the random emergence of even the simplest cell to the likelihood that "a tornado sweeping through a junk-yard might assemble a Boeing 747 from the materials therein." He also compared the chance of obtaining even a single functioning protein by chance combination of amino acids to a solar system full of blind men solving Rubik's Cube simultaneously.

It's like the 'miracles' that happened with the WTCs, you are free to believe it.

nate895 · Sep 17, 2008

Kade said:
What about skin cells then. They are alive. They have the EXACT DNA of the person. Should that be protected then too?

They are part of the body, they are YOUR property, you can do whatever you want to them. A baby is of different DNA, and not your property.

Highland · Sep 17, 2008

on the counter...2.02 Dr. Paul says at conception...that is me laughing right after that statement.
we were really close to him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTjccxVZ8B0

Where does life begin?

Member

Banned

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Similar threads