Morally, according to many religious figures, life begins when an egg becomes fertilized. To others, life begins only after the child can say his name. Somewhere between these two diverse opinions lies a middle ground that we should be able to live with. The question of when life begins can cause heated debates without the slightest possibility of a reasonable solution. As an example, should killing a pregnant woman be considered a double homicide? If the fetus is defined as alive then it is clear that the answer should be yes. However, at what point should the fetus cross that invisible line of being considered live tissue and a live human?

Medical advances have greatly improved the life expectancy of a premature baby to where it is reasonable to expect a fetus 22 weeks old to be able to survive outside the womb. So where then is the crossover point between when a late abortion is considered murder and when a late abortion is considered a standard medical procedure. Clearly, defining when life begins will help to draw a line separating these two polarized issues.

As with all compromises, neither side will be happy with anything less than 100% of there own views being adopted however their happiness is not at issue here. It is also very likely that the fringe groups will both hate the any compromise solution. And yet, we must be allowed to reach the middle ground through a common sense solution.

We must first agree on the following common beliefs and facts before we can make any determination on this issue:

It is wrong to murder a living person. (thou shalt not kill) Not all fertilized eggs survive the natural process of implantation. Unless a fertilized egg is implanted, it will not survive on its own. A women’s menstrual cycle is approximately 1 month. The demand for the adoption of babies exceeds the supply. Abortion is not the best contraception method. Defective cells are naturally discarded by the system.

8 Week Old Fetus

When left to its own devices, an implanted embryo will grow into a living person. Clearly, an embryo that has been successfully implanted is alive. An egg fertilized outside of the womb will not mature on its own. Following this logic, stem cell research on cells fertilized outside the body should therefore be ok because a fertilized cell is not alive until it is implanted. Stem cell research on cells taken from a late term abortion is not ok because it profits from the death of a living person.

Contraception devices that prevent implantation are ok provided that they do not end the life of a living person. The Intra-Uterine-Device “IUD” prevents implantation of a fertilized embryo. Pregnancy does not occur. Morning after pills (NOT THE RU-486) used in the emergency room typically after rape, are ok if taken early enough to prevent implantation.

There is an uncertainty period of about 2 months determined by a second missed menstrual cycle. Further, science has proven that at around the 8th week of development the tiny forming fetus has developed its own brain activity completely separate from that if the mothers.

Herein lies the compromise; allowing abortions within the first two months of conception provides what we would call the legal definition of when life begins: the moral definition being successful implantation. After the first two months of pregnancy, abortion should be illegal in all cases except where the life of the mother has reached a 50% or greater possibility of termination. In this case, all efforts must be used to preserve the life of the mother and fetus. An ultrasound measurement must first be performed before abortion is allowed. The uncertainty allows the use of RU-486 within two months of missed periods. Other procedures may be permitted within the 2-month window under some circumstances. Note that this conclusion is neither pro-life nor pro-choice, but instead represents a middle ground that hopefully we can all live with for the time being.

Additional Resources:

Fetal Development Information
PROFESSIONAL WOMEN'S NETWORK
World Life League - The tiniest humans Q&A

Adoption Resources
AmericanAdoptions.com