The human zygote is the first developmental stage in a human life cycle. A zygote is different in kind from sperm and unfertilized eggs, which are gametes, not organisms. The zygote is different from any random cell that has human DNA, such as your skin cells (also not organisms). The zygote is a separate and […]
Today at the University of California, Berkeley, Dr. Malcolm Potts will be hosting his bi-annual point/counterpoint-style lecture on abortion for his public health class. This year, Monica Snyder of Secular Pro-Life will be presenting the antiabortion case. We hope to have video of her presentation later–EDIT: you can now watch the full presentation here–but meanwhile […]
[Esta publicación está disponible en español aquí.] Dizygotic twinning is when two sperm fertilize two eggs and produce two zygotes which grow as two separate organisms. Not confusing, right? Monozygotic twinning is when a single sperm fertilizes a single egg and produces a single zygote, but in the earliest stages of development that embryo splits […]
Today at the University of California, Berkeley, Pro-Life San Francisco is hosting the Let There Be Life Conference, which is designed to promote pro-life unity and education among Californians. Secular Pro-Life will be doing a speech on three pro-choice myths, including where those myths come from and exactly why they are misleading. We hope to post […]
When we say “life begins at conception,” we mean the human life cycle begins with the zygote. But often others think we are trying to say “people [morally relevant and valuable humans] begin at conception.” This is a philosophical claim, not a scientific one. So when others counter with “science can’t tell us when life begins” […]
The fetus is a living human organism. When I state this long-standing and (at least in the field of biology) undisputed fact, pro-choicers usually have one of three reactions: Reaction 1: They argue the point based on ignorance of basic biology. “A single cell is not an organism.” “A zygote is no different than your […]
Jaelyn Barnes had a miscarriage at eleven weeks. Baby Nielson, as you can see in this family photo, was a human being. This being Jaelyn’s fifth child, she was an experienced mother and their entire family was ecstatic for the newest addition. Jaelyn’s husband was serving their community as police officer when they first discovered […]
I recently wrote an article responding to Joona Rasanen’s arguments regarding ectogenesis. Ectogenesis refers to an organism growing in an artificial environment outside the body in which it would normally be found. In this context, it refers to the human embryo or fetus gestating in an artificial womb rather than the woman’s womb who conceived […]
Disclaimer: This blog post is meant for biological definition purposes. It is not meant to establish or argue any moral or philosophical points. [Esta publicación está disponible en español aquí.] A zygote is a human being. 1. The zygote is an organism. Fertilization – the fusion of gametes to produce a new organism – is […]
Top: a “photo” of a 9-week fetus from EarlyAbortionOptions.com (See under “What does the tissue look like?”) Bottom: a picture from WebMD of an 8-week fetus. Also Snopes links to BabyCenter for accurate depictions of fetal development. Notice BabyCenter’s photo is basically the exact same picture as WebMD’s. Fetal Development Facts: At 9 weeks, the […]
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