Claim: Life begins at conception

Question

Some of the most prominent scientists and physicians testified to the U.S Senate committee that human life begins at conception. Do you agree with this? The predominance of human biological research confirms that human life begins at conception.

Comments

The comparison between beliefs and science make this question hard to answer for doctors, scientists, and more. There is still no consensus among scientists for the correct answer to this question. A fertilized egg cannot survive without its mother, and will die without it. Check out this link:
https://bmcmedethics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12910-021-00624-4

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@mkherbert, good explanation and source. Don't forget to add a rating, which might be, "opinion" or "N/A" given that there is no consensus or clear answer for this ask. Good work.

Answer 1

False. Life does not begin at conception because a fertilized egg/fetus is fully reliant on the mother for survival and if removed will not survive on its own. In fact, the beginnings of a heartbeat don't even start until 6 weeks after conception. Check out this link:

https://www.livescience.com/65501-fetal-heartbeat-at-6-weeks-explained.html

Comments

This is a contentious topic. I didn't note anything in your source saying that life begins when there's a heartbeat. So your evidence doesn't quite debunk the claim, noting that it may be difficult to do so because, if you dig deeper you'll find a lot written on the subject, but no consensus. Some even say that "biology does not determine when human life begins. It is a question that can only be answered by appealing to our values, examining what we take to be human."

Also, it's worth noting that there are fact-checks on this topic, such as https://evolutionnews.org/2022/05/fact-check-yes-human-life-begins-at-fertilization/ but not all fact-checks are accurate so it's best to review supporting evidence carefully.

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I agree that life does not begin at conception. The fertilized egg's dependence on the mother for survival is a key factor, and significant developmental milestones, like the beginning of a heartbeat, occur much later. The amount of dependence on the mother and the timeline of development shows that conception is not the start of life and like you said a heartbeat doesn't even start until 6 to 8 weeks.

Answer 2

Life does not begin at conception because the fetus does not have a heartbeat until 6-8 weeks, fertilization begins at conception. Additionally, a fetus is not self-sufficient and has no chance of survival without the woman carrying it.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/when-does-a-fetus-have-a-heartbeat#timeline

Comments

This is a contentious topic. I didn't note anything in your source saying that life begins when there's a heartbeat. So your evidence doesn't quite debunk the claim, noting that it may be difficult to do so because, if you dig deeper you'll find a lot written on the subject, but no consensus. Some even say that "biology does not determine when human life begins. It is a question that can only be answered by appealing to our values, examining what we take to be human."

Also, it's worth noting that there are fact-checks on this topic, such as https://evolutionnews.org/2022/05/fact-check-yes-human-life-begins-at-fertilization/ but not all fact-checks are accurate so it's best to review supporting evidence carefully.

Answer 3

The statement that life begins at conception can't be true or false because it is an opinion, not a fact. As stated in the article, "Medical professionals and bioethicists caution that both the beginning and end of life are complicated biological processes that are not defined by a single identifiable moment - and are ill-suited to the political arena." (Varney, para. 20)This quote highlights how complex this debate is because it depends on people's individual beliefs and scientific interpretations. Overall, this statement is an opinion rather than a verifiable fact because of people's differing views on when life begins.

https://www.politifact.com/article/2022/sep/06/when-does-life-begin-state-laws-define-it-science-/