Do we really know when life begins?
Some people think that it is a complete mystery,
and therefore abortion should be allowed.
They reason that a fetus is “not a person”
or is somehow “not a real human being”
or is just a "potential life" while in the
mother’s womb.
But there are two problems with this kind
of reasoning.
First, even if it were true that we did not
know when life had begun in the womb,
that would be an argument against abortion.
Imagine you go hunting with a friend and the
two of you become separated.
You see some rustling in the bushes ahead,
but you don’t know if it’s a deer or your friend.
Would you shoot?
That would be criminally reckless if you did,
because there’s a chance that behind that
bush is a human life.
In the same way, if there is a possibility
that there is a human life in the womb, it
would be reckless to kill that life.
But that’s where we find the second flaw
in this reasoning: it’s not merely possible
that a human life has begun in the womb: it is a 
scientific certainty that life begins at fertilization.
At the moment a sperm fuses with an egg (known
as fertilization or conception), a new, unique
human being that is genetically distinct from
both parents comes into existence.
Gender, ethnicity, hair color, eye color,
and countless other traits are determined
at that moment.
This genetic blueprint remains the same for
his or her entire life.
After conception, a developing baby grows
at an extremely rapid pace, especially within
the first trimester.
The baby’s heart begins to beat in the sixth
week of pregnancy, which is only a little
over 3 weeks from the moment of conception.
A new study found that the first heartbeat
may occur even sooner, as early as the fifth
week, which is about the same time 
a mother discovers she is pregnant.
The baby’s lungs and digestive system are
also forming.
At eight weeks, human brain activity can be
recorded.
In fact, the human brain will continue to
develop and mature even after birth and well
into the person’s twenties.
At twelve weeks, the tiny child can swallow,
scrunch hands into little fists, touch his
or her face, and scratch his or her head.
The baby’s fingers and toes are also complete
with nails.
Fingerprints are developing by fourteen weeks.
At eighteen weeks, the baby’s ears can even
hear music and recognize their mother’s voice.
Between 18-30 weeks, doctors can treat pre-born
babies while still inside the womb with life-saving
therapies and repair significant defects for
certain diseases.
And at 22 weeks or even sooner, it is possible
for babies to be born and survive outside
the womb.
It is also a fact that preborn children
exhibit behaviors that we do on a daily basis.
They smile, feel pain, cough, yawn, hiccup,
respond to sound and light, sleep,
and possibly even dream.
Some researchers have even shown that babies
may cry while in the womb.
So referring to the preborn child as a zygote,
blastocyst, embryo, or fetus at different
stages of development does nothing to lessen
his or her humanity.
Those are just ways of referring to age, no
different from the terms infant, toddler,
adolescent, or adult.
It is also false for some to call the preborn
child a “parasite” or consider him or
her as nothing more than a blob-like “sea
cucumber.”
First, parasites are different in species
from their host, and if a fetus were a parasite,
then the mother’s immune system 
would attack it.
Instead, the mother’s body undergoes dramatic
changes to specifically provide nourishment
and nutrients to her child.
Even pro-choice, atheist philosopher Peter
Singer admits that, “There is no doubt that
from the first moments of its existence, an
embryo conceived from human sperm and egg
is a human being.”
And there are thousands of biology and embryology
textbooks, modern DNA studies, medical dictionaries,
science professors and medical researchers
that all confirm that life begins at fertilization.
And every mother like me that has experienced
pregnancy knows that with every kick and movement
the baby makes, life is blooming for the child
growing inside.
So, when does life begin?
It is a scientific certainty that human life
begins at the moment of conception.
Therefore, every abortion kills an innocent
human being.
To suggest otherwise is to ignore the scientific
facts and miss the miracle of life.
