Additional Note for Christians:

 

We recognize that a Biblical reflection on this explanation is meaningful to the substantial portion of Americans who adhere to the teachings of Christianity.

 

Strict Biblical scrutiny affirms the common understanding that a person’s life begins in the womb (Psalm 139:13, Jeremiah 1:5), however, nowhere in the Bible is it stated that conception (fertilization) is the exact moment when a person’s life begins. 

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The Christian stance on when a person's life begins has evolved over time and varies across denominations. For example, up until 1679, these two propositions were part of the Roman Catholic Church:

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34. It is lawful to procure abortion before ensoulment of the fetus lest a girl, detected as pregnant, be killed or defamed.

 

35. It seems probable that the fetus (as long as it is in the uterus) lacks a rational soul and begins first to have one when it is born; and consequently it must be said that no abortion is homicide.

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Historically, the idea that ensoulment could happen at fertilization was not in the realm of possibility until the 1670s because, before that time, no one had any idea that human eggs existed (1). Even after the existence of human eggs was confirmed, no one was able to observe the fusion of human egg and sperm until the 1870s (1).

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Some readers mistake “conceive a son” as meaning that fertilization is the start of a person’s life. However, every day there are people who “bury a son.” Are they burying a son that still has a soul inside his body? No. The soul has left the body—that’s why the son is being buried. Just because the body of a son exists doesn’t mean we can assume the spirit of the son is in the body.  The words “conceive a son” tell us that a new body begins to exist, but they do not tell us if that body contains a spirit.

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Some readers also mistake the life of the fertilized egg as being the same as the life of a person. The presence of living cells can be found in bodies after death (2, 3), so we cannot assume that the presence of living cells in a body means that a person is present in that body. 

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​Many readers do not know that historically, the church used to

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There is good reason to believe it is not God's design to have ensoulment occur at fertilization, and this is because science has observed 

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that between one-third and one-half of all embryos naturally fail to implant in the uterus and thus never develop into new human people. Of embryos that do successfully implant in a uterine wall, one-third naturally fail to develop to term.

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Based on these statistics, if someone were to believe that a person's life begins at fertilization, then they'd also have to believe that two-thirds of all people on earth naturally die before they are born.

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how to use our God-given free will in line with his commandments, particularly "Though shall not murder."​

 

It's clear a new body begins to exist at conception, and it's clear that ensoulment occurs sometime later in the womb. In Ecclesiastes 3:20 (ESV), it is written “all are from the dust, and to dust all return.” Based on Christian holy writings, it makes sense that bodies (“dust”) exist before and after we do. Accordingly, “fetus” is the proper term to describe a body that exists before the baby. Likewise, “corpse” is the proper term to describe the body that exists after a person has died. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

 

As for the timing of when a fetus turns into a baby in the womb, the Bible emphasizes "the sixth month," not once but twice, in the Gospel of Luke chapter 1, verse 26 and again in verse 36 (ESV). Then from verse 39 to verse 44, it is in the sixth month of pregnancy that Elizabeth’s baby leaps for joy in her womb. In fact, throughout the bible, there is no use of the word baby before the sixth month. To the spiritually inclined, it is no coincidence that the Bible emphasizes the sixth month and that the 23rd week gestation—when a body gains a mind—is in the sixth month. Based on the words of the Gospel, the science of brain development, and logic reported on this page, it is reasonable to believe that a baby’s life begins in the sixth month, and that’s the gospel connection!