When does a clump of cells become a person with full moral status?

1. When does a clump of cells become a person with full moral status? The question matters whether you believe in God or not…. Immanuel Kant “Every human being must be treated not merely as a means to an end but as an end in itself”

2. At what stage would you draw the line? zygote blastocyst fertilization morula gametes implantation gastrula neurulation birth / neonate foetus > 24 weeks Heart beat EEG activity 36hrs Examine this chart of development from gametes to neonate 7days 14days 22days 24weeks 20weeks

3. UK Law zygote blastocyst fertilization morula gametes implantation gastrula neurulation birth / neonate foetus > 24 weeks Heart beat EEG activity 36hrs 7days Current UK legislation on the attainment of personhood is paradoxical in that it draws lines of moral status at 2 points: 14days 14 days for embryo research 24 weeks for abortion 22days 20weeks 24weeks

4. UK Public Opinion zygote blastocyst fertilization morula gametes implantation gastrula neurulation birth / neonate foetus > 24 weeks Heart beat EEG activity 36hrs 7days In a 2008 poll*, 43% of UK adults thought the first heartbeat was the start of personhood 40 weeks 14days 22days 24weeks 20weeks * Reproductive Biology Assoc Inc. International Poll 2008

5. RomanCatholicism zygote blastocyst fertilization morula gametes implantation gastrula neurulation birth / neonate foetus > 26 weeks Heart beat EEG activity 36hrs The majority Roman Catholic view, expounded by Donum Vitae 1987 and reinforced by Dignitas Personae 2008 is that ensoulment or personhood begins at the moment of conception 7days 14days 40 weeks A minority of Catholic theologians have argued, along the lines of St Thomas Aquinas, that ‘delayed’ ensoulment occurs when the spirit relates to form ie. When the primitive streak appears 22days 24weeks 20weeks

6. Protestant Christianity zygote blastocyst fertilization morula gametes implantation gastrula neurulation birth / neonate foetus > 24 weeks Heart beat EEG activity 36hrs There is a great diversity of view within Protestantism about the time of ensoulment. Generally speaking most believers would view the unique person being created by God within the first 2 weeks. The range of beliefs is normally either conception (often held by evangelicals or anglo-catholics), implantation – start of relationship with the mother or neurulation (spirit / form as per Thomas Aquinas). 7days 14days 22days 24weeks 20weeks

7. Islam zygote blastocyst fertilization morula gametes implantation gastrula neurulation birth / neonate foetus > 24 weeks Heart beat EEG activity 36hrs Islamic scholars down through the centuries have consistently upheld the teaching of delayed ensoulment. The process of ensoulment reaching fruition at a point between 40 and 120 days gestation* Abortion after 120 days is not allowed. 7days 40 weeks 14days 120 days quickening Some Jurists argue for the protection of the fertilized embryo and therefore are against embryo research 22days 40 days 24weeks 20weeks * Maliki school says earlier

8. Hinduism zygote blastocyst fertilization morula gametes implantation gastrula neurulation birth / neonate foetus > 24 weeks Heart beat EEG activity 36hrs The Vedas teach that all life is sacred. However, human life is the highest level of conciousness. The divine spark, or soul enters at 120 days (Artma). Hindus also perform a pre-birth ceremony at 7 months when personhood is fully achieved. 7days 14days 40weeks 120 days quickening Thus, although the early embryo is to be respected, it is the 120 day time point which is a key event in the acquiring of human personhood. 22days 40 days 24weeks 20weeks

9. Judaism zygote blastocyst fertilization morula gametes implantation gastrula neurulation birth / neonate foetus > 24 weeks Heart beat EEG activity 36hrs Rabbinic thought varies considerably on the emergence of personhood. Rabbi Judah the Patriach held that it occurred at conception. Talmudic teaching is that personhood is only obtained at birth and that the baby only has equivalent status with the mother when half in and half out of the womb. Other teachings hold that after 40 days the foetus has special status which precludes abortion for all but the most serious reasons. 7days 14days 120 days quickening 40 days 22days 24weeks 20weeks

10. Buddhism zygote blastocyst fertilization morula gametes implantation gastrula neurulation birth / neonate foetus > 24 weeks Heart beat EEG activity 36h Generally speaking, personhood is not an issue for Buddhists. Consciousness comes from conception - therefore this is a critical stage.Genetic makeup of the individual from the blastocyst stage onward can be affected by Karmic influences. This has led some Buddhists to define the blastocyst as the key stage in personhood. 7d 14d 22d 24w

11. Does developmental biology inform this debate? zygote blastocyst fertilization morula gametes implantation gastrula neurulation birth / neonate foetus > 24 weeks Heart beat EEG activity Whilst embryo / foetal development is a continuum, there are 5 recognized stages at which scientists have suggested personhood could potentially be defined as beginning although these are hotly contested and debated. 1 Fertilization 2 Syngamy – new genome 3 Gastrulation (Individuation) 4 EEG activity 5 Birth

12. Fertilization zygote blastocyst fertilization morula gametes implantation gastrula neurulation birth / neonate foetus > 24 weeks Heart beat EEG activity Contrary to popular thought, there is no ‘moment’ of fertilization. It is a process that can take up to 36 hours. Processes include capacitation of the sperm, oocyte chemoattraction, penetration of the zona pellucida by the sperm and eventual zygote formation. This impacts on personhood simply in that there is no definable new being or entity for at least a day following sexual union. This has implications for those who might oppose emergency contraception in cases of rape.

13. Syngamy zygote blastocyst fertilization morula gametes implantation gastrula neurulation birth / neonate foetus > 24 weeks Heart beat EEG activity Defining personhood in terms of the creation of a novel genome is also fraught with difficulty. Even though a new genetically distinct entity is formed at the emergence of the zygote, there is still the possibility that the zygote will form multiple entities or that multiple zygotes will fuse to form one. Also it is possible the zygote will form a tumour rather than a viable foetus. In terms of personhood this is problematic. Early blastomeres within a blastocyst are totipotent – so in theory could form multiple persons.

14. Gastrulation zygote blastocyst fertilization morula gametes implantation gastrula neurulation birth / neonate foetus > 24 weeks Heart beat EEG activity By 14 days, the implanted embryo begins to exhibit differentiated cellular structures. This is probably the first point at which biological individuality occurs. Monozygotic twinning can occur up to day 12. Thus several philosophers (including Mary Warnock, Ron Green) talk about the origins of personhood and theologians such as Ford and Olsen, Shannon and Walter talk about ‘delayed ensoulment’ as occuring around this time.

15. EEG activity zygote blastocyst fertilization morula gametes implantation gastrula neurulation birth / neonate foetus > 24 weeks Heart beat EEG activity Burst of EEG activity can be detected in the developing foetus at around 20 weeks gestation. There is a persuasive argument that if cessation of electro-encephalogram activity marks the end of life, surely the instigation of EEG marks its start. This would imply that being a person is bound up with a functioning cortex. The potential for the brain to experience pain at this point has informed the abortion debate but the ability to ‘sense’ the external environment is a key facet to personhood.

16. Birth zygote blastocyst fertilization morula gametes implantation gastrula neurulation birth / neonate foetus > 24 weeks Heart beat EEG activity If there is a critical tipping point in foetal development, it is during the process of delivery of the neonate. Abrupt changes in cardiovascular and pulmonary function occur to sustain life extra-utero. There is no doubt that we talk of a new-born infant as a ‘person’ and most societies have enshrined legal registration and protection of babies as persons in society. But does that mean that a foetus in the womb 5 minutes before birth is any less of a person?