Because an abortion kills a small person and every human being, regardless of age or degree of development, is extremely valuable and just as valuable as any other human being. Every human being came into being through conception and has its value not on the basis of what she can do, but only on the basis that she is human. The vast majority of abortions do not take place because the woman’s life is threatened and therefore the vast majority of abortions are a violation of the unborn child’s human value.
We believe that human dignity does not depend on the degree of consciousness. For example, would a deeply unconscious person have no human value? Do we have the right to kill a person in a coma even if we knew the person would wake up in nine months? We believe that it would be a gross violation of human dignity even if the victim in question was unaware of what was happening.
In addition, one can measure brain activity already after about 40 days after conception. A fetus’ entire nervous system (including the brain) develops between fetal week 8 and 13.5. After 13.5 weeks, we have reason to believe that the fetus may feel pain and have some kind of consciousness.
A female egg cell is a part of a woman’s body. A sperm is a part of a man’s body. Neither egg nor sperm is a new human and both egg and sperm die a “natural death” after a relatively short time. But a fertilized egg is a new organism of its own with a new unique set of DNA that will survive the woman and the man if allowed to continue living in their proper environment.
You do not come from a fertilized egg – you have been one!
You do not come from an embryo – you have been one!
You do not come from a fetus – you have been one!
You do not come from a child – you have been one!
The fertilized egg is actually a small, completely undeveloped human being. That’s how our lives began. To respect human dignity is to respect all people, regardless of age, size, degree of development or degree of dependence.