does anyone know when life begins? I'm not looking for the usual pro-life or pro-abortion emotion please. I'm only interested in where I can find, in US law, that it is determined.

The law isn't qualified to determine when life begins any more than it is qualified to determine what is a human being. Slavery being a good example of the law's qualifications to determine such things.

There is no dispute within the scientific community with regard to when we become living human beings. It is the responsibility of the law to deal with the facts appropriately, not fabricate them.

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"It's not alive, It's not alive, It's not alive. Because I said it isnt', there's your proof jerk." ...lexi

"As far as your logical fallicy shit - shove it. I am a woman."...naturemomma

once the fetus is viable. I believe that happens around week 26.

Well it can feel at week 9, and it can think around then, I'm not sure if it's considered alive by then.

Hi Themaniacster,

Technically, life begins at conception...as clearly it is an organism made up of living cells. The legal question is the following: when it the fetus considered a human being in the eyes of the law...and is then afforded all the rights and privileges that we have. Based on the Roe_V_Wade decision, the precedent was set that it becomes a person when it becomes viable, e.g., can live on its own outside the womb.

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The Lone Ranger of the AWE liberal elitists.....who was that masked man???

And now, I'm the Elitist of liberal Elitists...

Scientific fact the egg is a living organism but it is an never will become human life until fertilization. Once fertalized it is the spark and begining of human life for it will not become anything else but living. The court did not stand neutral on there decision and base it on scientific fact rather they obviously used personal beliefs so that is where it stands today. Why well if they admitted fact then then one could not argue personal beliefs that have no factual merit. And the only thing in the court would be when that life protected under the constitution and the law. I myself would not get so heated about the debate if not for the ignorance in wich it is argued. If you want to argue to determine at what stage it is do the right of protection then at least it is a sane arguement. But R v W has turned it into an ignorant abandon of logic and fact. You show me one pro choice that can give documented proof that a fertalized embryo is not a human life, They don't because they can't not one credable scientist or doctor will be so stupid to propagate such a lie wich goes against every scientific fact. That is why the pro choice side is filled with so many wack jobs they will deny reality and fact to justify there position.

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When you came into this world you cried.
Live your life so that when you die.
The world cries. the shadow

This is my understanding also SN. Is there a contradiction, then, in charging a person with murder who kills an unborn baby, fetus, unviable tissue mass? This has come up in the Bobby Cutts murder trial in Ohio, he killed his mistress and his unborn baby. Guilty on two counts. The argument has started up that she was not his legal daughter yet, so how could it be murder? It's fairly interesting.

The courts have (unwittingly?) established the personhood of the unborn. One can not be charged with manslaughter or murder, much less convicted of such unless one has killed a person. There is a growing number of people sitting in prison right now having been sentenced for killing an unborn during the commission of a federal crime and with them a growing body of legal precedent. In fact, there is now federal law that states quite clearly that a person who kills an unborn during the commission of a federal crime will be charged for murder or manslaughter and the law defines an unborn as an unborn at any stage of development rather than one who has reached a viability date.

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"It's not alive, It's not alive, It's not alive. Because I said it isnt', there's your proof jerk." ...lexi

"As far as your logical fallicy shit - shove it. I am a woman."...naturemomma

Wonder why abortion isn't considered murder then.

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Gun control is giving criminals guns and taken guns away from law abiding citizens.

This woman was only a few weeks away from delivering so this was considered a human being . It had a heart , brain, feelings and a soul, not just some cells in a petri dish. Makes a big difference. Even pro choice people recognize that fact, contrary to what Maniac and Paleface are always putting out.