Essay about The Right to Life for an Embryo

Many people believe that because the embryo has the potential to become a human being, the destruction of these embryos is basically murder. However, the embryo is no older than fourteen days. This means it has no human features and has not differentiated into distinct organ tissues;

When touching the subject of abortion, one must consider that there are two sides battling for control. That is right, abortion has literally turned into a war zone where even the unlikely of individuals do the unthinkable. Each side has their motives and methods for contradicting the other. For instance, there are cases and events that support both sides of this issue.

It has the full potential of becoming a person. In that sentence is the distinction. A person has the right to live and to be treated with equal consideration among the rest of the population. A fetus, although undeniably a human, is not a person, and therefore does not have those rights. A single cell amoeba is extremely similar to a human zygote, it also has a unique set of DNA, uses oxygen for energy that allows its cells divide and grow just the same as a human zygote; but it would be absurd for someone to defend the life of this amoeba because it has a right to live. To refer to a fetus as a person that deserves rights is a blatant category mistake. A fetus is not a person in the same right as you and I, it is a bundle of human cells with the potential of becoming a person.

“Abortion is the spontaneous or artificially induced expulsion of an embryo or fetus” (Abortion, 2002). An artificially induced abortion is the type referred to in the legal context. Abortions happen in different situations. The question comes when is it the right or wrong choice. The root question becomes the moment a fetus becomes a person and entitled to rights. The fetus could be a person at conception, during the pregnancy, or at birth. The deciding moment differs from the Pro-life group and Pro-choice group. After critically analyzing four different arguments about the pros and cons of abortion, one will be able to understand the ethical, moral, and

When an embryo should be considered an actual human has a variety of answers, “some have sought to reject that the early human embryo is a human being, according to one view, the cells that comprise the early embryo are a bundle of homogeneous cells that exist in the same membrane but do not form a human organism because the cells do not function in a coordinated way to regulate and preserve a single life”.(Siegel)

The topic of abortion is heavily debated. One of the major controversies surrounding abortion is whether or not the embryo is a human life and able to receive the same rights as any other human. Is the embryo mentally developed enough to be considered as a human life? It is medically proven that after conception, the human brain takes many months to develop, so the “personhood” of a fetus cannot begin until about the seventh month.

Adversaries of research on embryonic cells, including numerous religious and hostile to fetus removal bunches, fight that developing lives are people with similar rights, and along these lines qualified for similar insurances against mishandle, as any other individual. They trust life begins now of origination, when a sperm prepares an egg, since an unmistakable life form has appeared. Therefore, the demolition of a developing life is the decimation of a human life.

Even if a fetus is defined as a human being because it has a potential life, if the fetus does not yet aspire to live. It is impossible to argue that the fetus values its future yet, so why should it have a right to it?

The next position that Noonan (2012) disputes is that humanity is defined by experience. Someone has to have lived and formed memories to be considered human. He disputes this belief in several ways, with varying successfulness. His first argument is that an embryo feels and reacts at eight weeks gestation (p. 470). This argument is strong in supporting abortion bans after 8 weeks or 10 weeks (when the embryo is considered a fetus). It is not as strong in supporting abortion bans altogether, which is his argument. It does not support Noonan’s theory that an embryo becomes “human” at the moment of conception. Few could argue that a blastocyst (the bundle of cells that will form the embryo) is having experiences.

Scientist, Doctors, the Bible (History), Senate and Pro-choice / Planned Parenthood all agree that an embryo is a person from the moment of

Lee and George support their argument by providing three important facts that differentiate a human embryo is, in fact, a human being. First, they say that sex cells and somatic cells are part of a larger organism while the human embryo is a complete or whole organism, though immature (14). Secondly, they say that the embryo is human and has all the characteristics of a human being but the sex and somatic cells are genetically and functionally different because they cannot develop

The authors opinion is plainly seen in the first paragraph, “I argue for a compromise position that accords respect to the embryo as a form of human life, but which is distinct from Kantian respect for persons,” (Steinbock, 2007). The first view is that embryos should receive the protection and rights that all human beings have because they are genetically human. Steinbock counters this statement with the definition of a human organism, “an organism is defined as an integrated while with the capacity for self-directed development,” (Steinbock, 2007). This classification of what a human organism is demotes the human embryo as not human because the embryo has no heart, no brain and no organs. In other words, it has no similar traits as a human adult. It has the capabilities to become a baby, but will it ever become one? Another view, as described by Steinbock, is that embryos have no moral status. Embryos have the same genetic makeup as humans, but they don’t act or exhibit any human characteristics. Steinbock states,

“it is said that to draw a line, to choose a point in this development and say ‘before this point the thing is not a person, after this point it is a person’ is to make an arbitrary choice… It is concluded that the fetus is a person from the moment of conception. But this conclusion does not follow. Similar things might be said about the development of an acorn into an oak tree, and it does not follow that acorns are oak trees” (Thompson 1971).

issue that says an embryo is a human being and that doing any type of

     Abortion has always been a controversial subject among everybody whether they are involved directly or indirectly, whether they are for it or against it. It is nearly impossible to find someone who doesn't have an opinion about abortion. Both those who favor or oppose abortion make superior arguments to defend their beliefs and views. Personally, I think every last person is entitled to his or her own opinions, beliefs, thoughts, and rights. And yes, women have rights too, and denying women the right to choose abortion in the early stages of fetal development is denying her rights as a US citizen and is also discriminating against her. I think that abortion should be restricted to the first 21 weeks, which