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Life Begins at Conception
Clearly, upon and after fertilization, the new human
life does survive outside the mother's womb for
several cell divisions. Currently, with in vitro
fertilization, after several cell divisions it facilitates
continued growth to move this new human life to
the more natural habitat of the womb.
Some day, moving the new human life to the womb
may be unnecessary.
Having successfully
performed in vitro fertilization, all that is now
necessary for full development of the new human
life outside the womb is a determination of what is
necessary to sustain new human life and then
invent and produce an artificial womb. Should this
occur, we could have fully developed living human
beings who would not be human life under the
definition of human life that requires implantation.
However, under a definition of human life that
rests upon viabilitY as defined above, this living
human being is human life from conception, since
his or her fertilization and full development would
occur outside the womb.
8. Thus, for the reasons stated above and based upon
my knowledge, skill, experience, training and
education, it is my expert medical opinion that it is
a fact that human life begins at conception.
9. I am familiar with the subject of abortion through
reading and study. The most common methods of
induced abortion are vacuum, curettage, saline,
prostaglandin, and hysterotomy.
It
is my opinion,
based upon a reasonable degree of medical
certainty, that abortion destroys human life. Simply
stated, before abortion there is life, after abortion
there is death.
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