Cells are alive and a newly conceived baby is made of cells so wouldn't it be alive too?

Question

Cells are alive and a newly conceived baby is made of cells so wouldn't it be alive too?

Answer 1

A newborn baby is already born with cells in the mother's womb after its process from being zygote to baby (fetus).

A fetus (or foetus or fœtus) is a developing mammal or other viviparous vertebrate, after the embryonic stage and before birth.

Evidence that Newborn Babies are Alive While in Mother's Womb:

The parts of the fetal brain that control movement will not fully form until late in the second trimester, and the first part of the third trimester.[35] Control of movement is limited at birth, and purposeful voluntary movements develop in the first year after birth.[36][37]

Locomotor activity begins during the late embryonic stage, and changes in nature throughout development. Muscles begin to move as soon as they are innervated. These first movements are not reflexive, but arise from nerve impulses originating in the spinal cord. As the nervous system matures, muscles can move in response to stimuli, though this is not a voluntary movement.[38]

Quickening is the first maternally discernible fetal movement, which is often felt around the middle of pregnancy. Women who have already given birth have more relaxed uterine muscles that are consequently more sensitive to fetal motion, and for them fetal motion can sometimes be felt as early as 14 weeks.[39]

Complex and generalized movements occur at the beginning of the fetal stage, with movements and startles that involve the whole body. These movements occur as muscles and neural pathways begin to develop[15] Movement of hands, hips and knees have been observed at nine weeks,[40] stretches and yawns at ten weeks,[41] and isolated limb movements beginning shortly thereafter.

Answer 2

Yes, it's alive.  Nobody debates that.  The debate is whether or not killing it is murder.  Your fingers are alive too, but nobody considers it murder if you cut one off.  The egg is alive, but nobody calls it murder when a woman gets her period.  Sperm is alive, but nobody calls it murder when a  guy beats one out (which would be MASS murder in that case since there are millions of them each time.)

So yea, it's alive.  So what?

Another thing: A 'newly conceived baby' is not a baby in any definition of the word.  It certainly doesn't look like a little person.  For days, it's a cluster of cells too small to even see.  Then you get an embryo that looks more like a lizard than a human.  It's not even considered a fetus until the 8th week, at which point it's barely over an inch long and it's head is as big as the entire rest of it's body.  It's not capable of feeling pain until the third trimester.

This is what a 3 week embryo looks like - http://www.visembryo.com/baby/9.html

If you saw that sitting on a table, you would not even be able to identify what it was or where it came from.  You would say 'gross, what the h**l is that' and then you'd scrape it into the trash can, never knowing the difference.  So be careful with your little emotional appeal of trying to make a mental image of a baby with a diaper and a bottle.

Answer 3

A fertilized egg cell is a far cry from being a baby. In fact, new life doesn't even take over its own development until the embryo has successfully implanted in the womb and, its own DNA takes over cellular, organs, and tissue development. That doesn't occur until around week 2, post fertilization.  Up until week two, the developing embryo is still under the natural program control of the egg's activation program, and under the control of the parental DNA.

So, no, new life does not get its first start at the moment of fertilization if that is what your suggesting.

Answer 4

By that definition so is your yogurt. The problem is that, though its cells are alive, they can't do anything without the mother's nutrients. Although no actual blood is exchanged, the fetus is technically part of the mother.