Genetic studies demonstrate that at the moment a human sperm fuses with a human egg, a new, unique living entity is formed that contains a full and complete set of human chromosomes (1). This new cell is not just a human cell, but the human cell. This human cell signals the start of the growth and development of a new human being (2). Every human being in existence started their journey to adulthood this way. The genome in this cell contains all the information that determines the physical characteristics of this human – hair color, height, sex, and blood type (3). Even in the case that a genetic aberration exists in this set of chromosomes, it can always demonstrably and assuredly be determined to be human (4).
Recent advances in cell biology inform us that at this earliest stage of human development, as well as at the subsequent developmental stages of embryo and fetus, this human entity possesses all the required characteristics of an organism (5). From the one-cell stage through development to adolescence, this organism demonstrates internal order, response to its environment, coordinated activity among its components, complex regulatory activities, and energy production (6).
Shortly after fertilization, components of this human organism begin the process of differentiation, growth, and development into the interconnected organ systems of a human being (7). Before most women know they are pregnant, the pulmonary, cardiovascular, renal, gastrointestinal and central nervous systems are identifiable and communicating with one another. By definition, and by objective, observable criteria of what constitutes a human being, the human organism in the womb is a human being (8). Size, abilities, and self-awareness have never been, nor should they be, part of the criteria of being human. A human organism that is alive 6 months after a full-term birth is small, has no abilities, and is not self-aware, but is clearly a human being.
There are instances when the human being growing and developing inside the uterus does present a threat to a woman’s life. The medical treatment in this circumstance is separating this young human from his or her host through induction of labor or cesarean section. This action is called a birth, not an abortion. An abortion is the intentional destruction of a non-threatening human being in utero. When separating a human fetus from its mother due to a serious health threat, the intention is to birth a living human to be cared for and nurtured for as long as his or her health and medical science will allow.
As members of the American College of Family Medicine, we reaffirm the necessity of faithful adherence to the Hippocratic Ethic and declare the following:
REFERENCES
1. Plachot M. Fertilization. Hum Reprod. 2000 Dec;15 Suppl 4:19-30. doi:
10.1093/humrep/15.suppl_4.19. PMID: 11262790.
2. O’Rahilly, Ronan, and Müller, Fabiola 1996. Human embryology and teratology. 2nd ed. New York: Wiley-Liss.
3. Pavan WJ, Sturm RA. The Genetics of Human Skin and Hair Pigmentation. Annu Rev Genomics Hum Genet. 2019 Aug 31;20:41-72. doi: 10.1146/annurev-genom-083118-015230. Epub 2019 May 17. PMID: 31100995.
4. Feng H, Hershlag A. Fertilization abnormalities following human in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Microsc Res Tech. 2003 Jul 1;61(4):358-61. doi: 10.1002/jemt.10349. PMID: 12811741.
5. Mosby's Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing and Health Professions (10th ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier. 2017. p. 1281
6. Condic Maureen. 2011. A biological definition of the human embryo In Persons, moral worth, and embryos, ed. Napier Stephen, 211–35. Dordrecht: Springer Publishers.
7. Deglincerti A, Croft GF, Pietila LN, Zernicka-Goetz M, Siggia ED, Brivanlou AH. Self-organization of the in vitro attached human embryo. Nature. 2016 May 12;533(7602):251-4. doi: 1038/nature17948. Epub 2016 May 4. PMID: 27144363.
8. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "human being". Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Mar. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/human-being. Accessed 17 March 2024.
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