Helpful Scientific Definitions Supporting Your Pro-Life Stance
Embryo: The unborn from the end of Week 1 through Week 8
Fetus: The unborn from the end of Week 8 until birth
Human Being: A member of the species Homo sapiens
Life/Alive/Living: Whether something is “alive” is a purely scientific question that science has fully settled. To be “alive,” the following criteria must be met:
- Cellular organization
- Growth and development
- Metabolism (ability to capture, make, or utilize energy)
- Homeostasis (ability to maintain an internal equilibrium)
- Responsive to stimuli
- Reproductive capacity
- Contains all the genetic information needed to control its development for its lifetime
All seven of these criteria for life are met at conception. This is a biological fact attested to by the American College of Pediatricians and nearly every embryology textbook used in medical schools. Even Planned Parenthood has admitted that life begins at conception, stating in one of their very own publications that “abortion kills life after it has begun.”
Person: Defining “person” does not require complex philosophical or metaphysical analysis, despite claims to the contrary. Its definition is clear and simple, and found in nearly every dictionary. As Merriam-Webster states, as its very first definition, a “person” is a “human.”
Body Part: Science defines “body part” as a structure that shares the same genetic code as the rest of the body (e.g., appendix, arm, tonsils, or heart) and does not direct its own development.
Basic Developmental Milestones
Day 1: A fully alive human being, with unique DNA
Week 5: Heart beating
Week 6: Brain activity; kidneys producing urine
Week 9: Baby sighs, stretches, moves head, opens mouth, sucks thumb
Week 13: Body sensitive to touch
Week 21: Potentially viable
