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Our hero: A human fetus displays the key characteristics of life, such as cellular reproduction, responding to stimuli, and converting food into energy. It’s debatable whether viruses are alive, but it seems pretty clear that a human fetus is biologically alive.

Key Characteristics of Life

It’s important that the fetus is alive, but keep in mind that this point on its own does not settle the abortion debate. Most pro-choice people agree that the fetus is alive.

First posted March 19, 2018

Suggested:

Person 1: It’s alive, but it’s not really alive, you know? Person 2 (our hero): I think I might know what you mean. Maybe you’re saying that a fetus is biologically alive, but it’s not a valuable person yet. Is that right?

Our hero: I wish it were easier for women to decide when they have kids. But after fertilization a unique human is already present with DNA that won’t be repeated in a later pregnancy. Abortion determines which kids are born, not when kids are born.

Person 1: We check for a heartbeat to see if someone’s dead, so a fetus without a heartbeat isn’t alive. Person 2 (our hero): I agree the heart is a critical organ. But it’s not required for biological life. E.g., flatworms don’t have hearts, but they’re alive.

Person 1: We check for brainwaves to see if someone’s dead, so a fetus without brainwaves isn’t alive. Person 2 (our hero): I agree the brain is a critical organ. But it’s not required for biological life. E.g., trees don’t have brains, but they are alive.