The evidence is out there….
When does a human being begin? In the 1990s, Dr. Jerome Lejeune provided objective evidence that the full human genetic code is present in the human embryo from the moment of sperm-egg fusion. Not just a human genetic code, but a distinct, individual, unique and unrepeatable human genetic code. It is biologically and genetically completely distinct from its mother and father.
As Dr. Lejeune wrote, “To accept the fact that, after fertilization has taken place, a new human has come into being, is no longer a matter of taste or of opinion. The human nature of the human being from conception to old age is not a metaphysical contention. It is plain, experimental evidence.” (Dr. Jerome Lejeune before the US. Senate judiciary subcommittee)
When does a human being begin? We are told to “follow the science”. Professor Lejeune again expressed it succinctly this way:
“If you ask science, ‘What is a human being?’ science responds, ‘A human being is a member of our species.’ And if you ask science ‘What is a person?’ science responds, ‘A person is a human being alive.’ and science has no other answer.”
“The development of a human being begins with fertilization, a process by which two highly specialized cells, the spermatozoon from the male and the oocyte from the female, unite to give rise to a new organism, the zygote.”
Langman, Jan. Medical Embryology, 3rd Edition. Baltimore. Williams and Wilkins, 1975. page 3
