Is The Fetus a Person?
Is The Fetus a Person?
A fetus is an unborn offspring fully developed from a primary embryo. Merriam Webster defines a fetus as an unborn vertebrate especially after attaining the basic structural elements of its kind. The fetus is considered a person because it has already acquired the human structure at the specified gestation period. This understanding depends on people’s moral and ethical backgrounds. Some comprehend the fetus as a non-living creature, validating abortion, while others consider it a living being, dissuading termination (Miller, 2007). A fetus is considered a community member in some cultures because it is fully developed and awaiting adjustment to extra-uterine life.
A fetus is a living being that deserves recognition like other already adapted human beings. The main traits observed in a fetus include its dependence on nutrition and capacity for basic life functions. As a reaction to the dominance of this narrow sense of morality, it became popular to regard morality as a system of nasty puritanical prohibitions, mainly designed to stop people from having fun. (Singer, 2011). Thus, the fetus is equal to other humans. When the fetus starts kicking, it can be termed as a full being. It occurs between 28 to 30 weeks of gestation. At this period, abortion is a crime as one terminates already existing life.About varied theories, scientists argue that life starts at conception, where sperm meets the ovum. Thus, scientific views and research embrace the fetus’ recognition as a person. In reference to varied theories scientists argue that life starts at conception where a sperm meets the ovum. Nevertheless human embryology which was done by Michigan University shows that the unification of sperm and ovum forms a new life.
The very first documented human fetus representation which dates back to dating to the early years agrees, that a fetus is a person based on its capacity for human bodily functions. Thus, human life begins from conception, a process where a sperm fuses with an ovum to form an embryo that matures into a fetus, a fully formed being. Although legal recognition of humans is done after birth, reasoning should surpass it.
References
Singer, P. (2011). Practical Ethics (3rd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi:10.1017/CBO9780511975950
