When Does Human Life Begin? A Multifaceted Exploration

"Now, I know that many of my colleagues in the field of theology and certainly multitudes of Christians are convinced that the Bible unambiguously teaches that human life begins at conception. I personally am not persuaded that we can know with compelling certainty or at least that we know yet with compelling certainty from the source of Scripture that life begins at conception." [00:01:37]

"I think the Bible does teach that there's a continuity between prenatal and postnatal life. But is there anybody in the world that doubts that? One doesn't have to read the Bible to know that there's a -- I know that at one time I was a fetus, and that you were a fetus and you were a fetus and you were a fetus and everybody in this room and everybody that's watching on television at one time, you were a fetus." [00:03:40]

"Psalm 139 is often quoted as evidence from the Scripture that teaches that life begins at conception. We read in verse 13 of Psalm 139: 'For thou has possessed my reins, thou has covered me in my mother's womb. And I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are thy works, And that my soul knows right well.'" [00:05:58]

"And, in fact, the Hebrew word that is used for a living born child is the same Hebrew word that the Old Testament uses for a fetus. The same is also true in the Greek New Testament, that the same word for a 'postnatal' human being is used to describe a 'prenatal' human being, so that both Testaments call unborn children 'children.'" [00:07:21]

"One of the most important texts for me is that found in the Old Testament book of Exodus in chapter 21. I don't have time to go into a detailed exegesis of Exodus 21 for you tonight. I'm simply going to say to you that even among theologians and Old Testament's scholars, there's considerable debate about the interpretation of Exodus 21 that talks about the law of Israel that is applied when men are fighting together." [00:10:43]

"The very minimum we get out of Exodus 21 is that the unborn child in Israel was protected by Jewish law and was considered to be extremely valuable. So, but it doesn't necessarily prove that it was given the same value as a human life. Let's turn now if we can quickly from the biblical considerations to the viewpoint of church history which involves the reflection of the best minds of the church on the biblical teaching." [00:13:09]

"And as I say it is one of the earliest catechetical instruction manuals that goes back probably to the first century itself, and this is not a book of the Bible. But what it does represent clearly to us is the understanding of the early Christian church on issues of this type because there is no ambiguity in The Didache. The Didache sets forth as a clear emphatic prohibition 'Thou shalt not commit murder by abortion.'" [00:13:54]

"First of all, when we look at nature and we're trying to make a scientific designation as when a person is a person; we're trying to discover discernible clear lines of demarcation. One of the most obvious simple and easy lines of demarcation that we can ever find is birth, and many people say 'There's no question about that. Once the umbilical cord is cut and that infant now is breathing on his own, is no longer dependent upon the nourishment system of his mother and is an individuated human being, then they're clearly alive.'" [00:15:52]

"But as I say the most obvious point of demarcation where the process of the production of a child begins is at conception. What has been important to the medical decision on this is a relatively recent discovery -- by recent, I don't mean last week but I mean twentieth century -- and that is that we understand in modern science that the entire genetic code that generates the individual particular characteristics, size, shape and development, all of that, of a personal human being that entire genetic code is established at conception." [00:18:04]

"Within 18 to 25 days after conception, there is a discernible heartbeat, and the beating of the heart, though in and of itself does not usually constitute the -- the cessation of the beating of the heart doesn't immediately constitute a cessation of life in the judgment in the medical community. The beating of the heart is a very significant consideration when we're talking about human life." [00:19:01]

"Now, viability means that time in the development of a child when if that child is born, prematurely or whatever, it has the ability to survive. It is livable. It is viable. And so the ruling of the court was that after viability, abortions are not permitted except under certain extenuating circumstances. Incidentally, the net effect have been that those circumstances are easily gotten around so that the abortions are in fact legal now all the way into the third trimester and are being done into the third trimester." [00:27:00]

"Accordingly, I believe that the state's interest in protecting potential human life exists throughout the entire pregnancy. See, once the court made the distinction between potential and actual human life, they are caught on the horns of dilemma. If the state is responsible to protect potential human life then as Sandra Day O'Connor says it is a potential human life at the moment of conception that it has potentiality moving to the direction to the natural conclusion of birth and to put the legal definition of life at the point of viability is an exercise in despair because of its implicit arbitrariness." [00:30:02]