Life begins at which stage?

Question

At what point during gestation does an embryo quit being an object and begin to have life?

I have a feeling there's no simple answer.

No religious answers, please.

Answer 1

It is always living - the cells are respiring and dividing.  But, generally a fetus cannot live on its own outside the uterus until at least the 6th month of development.

Answer 2

When you are no longer a parasite and breathe on your own.

Answer 3

The answer I've given students over the years is this...

Let's disregard the fuzzy definition of "human life," and stick with the idea of cellular life.  In this instance:

An ovum (or other "female" cell) is alive.

A spermatid (or other "male" cell) is alive.

They combine to make a zygote that is alive.

So the simple answer to when life begins in sexual reproduction is exactly the same as it is for asexual reproduction:  it doesn't!  It simply continues.

Answer 4

There's no scientific designation between "human being" and "not a human being yet" in the development of an embryo.  This, in my opinion, is one of the main reasons for the fervor on both sides of the abortion issue.  Because it is not at all clear, people have taken it upon themselves to define the beginning of life most in sync with their political prejudices.  

For anti-abortionists, they've simply drawn a line in the sand at conception.  This way, they don't give the opposition a foot in the door and it makes for an convenient platform to rally the troops.  In some sense, this is true, biologically, as at no point is the zygote dead, but this is true also of the gametes (sperm & egg) before they fuse.

Answer 5

The answer, I believe, will just depend on your definition of life.  To me everything is life, all of it has energy and some purpose.  That is the debate over stem cells.  Is nascent life considered living?  According to my understanding, yes.  An embryo is still a part of biology, it is an organism, it is living, just not in the noticeable Human form.  Just about all animals start out the same way, only after so many steps in the genetic code does it begin to resemble a human.  So if you could give your definition of life, maybe we could continue this...