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Quote by: northtexan Many of us believe that a human person comes into being when a human organism gains the abilities to think, to be conscious, to know feelings, to be self-aware. |
The problem with that idea is that in order to believe it, you must be willing to also terminate postnatals up to around 15 months because it isn't until about that age that children become self aware.
There is a great deal of research that suggests that children don't begin to "think" until around that age as well. Research suggests that the actions of children under a year are along the lines of genetic memory or instinct rather than any active cognition.
As to conscious? If you touch an unborn's palm at 8 weeks with a sharp instrument, it will recoil in pain. Neuroscientists have suggested for decades that an unborn at 8 weeks or later be administered a general anesthetic prior to an aboriton as they feel the pain of being torn apart the same as you would.
It seems that the pro choice side retreats further and further from science into the realm of necromancers and gypsies in an effort to obscure the truth of the issue and that is that whatever stage you care to point to is just another stage in a never ending (until our death) series of maturation and change.
You have existed as a unique individual since the moment of your conception. You did not "spring" into being at any time past that moment. If you are suggesting that you did, I would be interested in knowing the mechanics of how it happened.