Letter to the Editor: At What Point Does an Embryo or Fetus Become Human?

In light of the recent Supreme Court decision and all of the protests, I have just one question: When does life begin? To be more precise, when does an embryo or fetus attain humanity?

I haven’t gotten anyone protesting the decision to give me a definitive answer. I believe that if you can’t answer that question, you should seriously question what you are protesting. 

The Supreme Court decision did not ban abortions. It gave the power to regulate abortions to the states. Any regulation should be in line with the answer to that question.

If you believe the embryo/fetus/baby is not a person until it is actually born, you are at least consistent if you want abortion on demand up until the moment of birth. 

Do you say when the baby can feel pain? Does that make it human? No. It just makes you less uncomfortable. 

When it can live outside the womb? That is a moving line, so what you would call not human one day, you would later decide had been human after all. The humanity didn’t really change, just your perception of whether it had obtained “life” before you killed it.

If you draw the line arbitrarily, you are risking killing innocent, helpless beings with unique human DNA.

There are other questions regarding the circumstances of conception and protecting the life of the mother. I am not asking those. They apply to very few abortions.

I am simply asking when life begins. When is it a human baby deserving of rights and protection?

Vivian Nienow

Sister Bay, Wisconsin