Stem Cell Research & Abortion: When Does Life Begin?

The question behind the stem cell debate is not "Is stem cell research ethical?" but "When does life begin?" What makes someone a person, and when do we gain or lose personhood status? There are two main views on this question, which each acts as the polar opposite of the other. The physicalist view, or the low standard view, is the view of most pro-life advocates whereas the personalist view, or the high-standard view, is the view of most pro-choice advocates and those who would be more supportive of stem cell adoption. Let us start by examining the physicalist position, as this is the position which claims personhood begins at conception. This view is the one represented in president Ronald Reagan's "Personhood Proclamation" of 1988.

At the moment of conception "the unborn entity is genetically distinct from its parents" and therefore constitutes a new and distinct person. In South Dakota, the legislature actually passed a bill stating that life begins at conception, essentially outlawing abortion and stem cell research. Although the bill was passed in February 2004, It was not put into effect because the governor, who is conservative, claimed that its form and style needed to be revised. ¹ The physicalist position claims that all humans are persons from the moment of conception to the moment of death. Even embryos at IVF clinics should have full moral status and human rights. As Cardinal Benadin of the Catholic Church purported, life is a "seamless garment" and the sanctity of life should remain the same throughout.²

In relation to the stem cell debate, the physicalist camp takes a staunch stand against embryonic stem cell research while advocating adult stem cell research as an alternative. Can every stem cell become a baby? The Vatican grants "full human personhood, dignity and moral status to the embryo from the moment of fertilization on."³ The fear of the physicalist camp is that there will be increased embryo destruction and abortions if all do not hold to this view. According to the National Right to Life, there have been more than 40 million abortions in the United States since Roe v. Wade was passed in 1973.

As the abortion debate is integrally linked to the stem cell debate, it is important to look at these figures. In the U.S. we need not fear yet that embryos will be created for the sole purpose of stem cell research, because there is already a plethora of unused embryos in IVF clinic, although a large percentage of these unused embryos remain the property of the couples who created them.

What does the Bible say?

Many pro-life advocates claim that "the Bible makes plain that life...begins not at birth, but at conception" and go on to "prove" this through science and philosophy. But where exactly in the Bible does it say that life begins at conception?

Here are some verses commonly quoted refer to God creating us and forming us in the womb.

• "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5 NIV

• "You guided my conception and formed me in the womb." Job 10:10 NLV

• "Yes, you have been with me from birth; from my mother's womb you have cared for me. No wonder I am always praising you!" Psalm 71:6 NIV

• "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Psalm 139:13 NIV

• "This is what the Lord says- he who made you, who formed you in the womb..." Isaiah 44:2 NIV

God is personal God who sees each of us as precious and knows us each by name. It is clear according to the Bible that were created by God and that his hands formed us in the womb. Ultimately, he created mankind for his glory:

"Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." Isaiah 43:7

But, there is nothing in the text referring to that is only one of several problems with the problems of defending the physicalist view. There is one verse seemingly ambiguous Exodus, 21:22, which is relevant to the debate over the beginning of one's personhood. Check out the article "When Does Life Begin? The Exodus 21:22 Discrepancy" to learn more."

Charles Henderson, a clergyman who does not agree with the physicalist view, writes, "The basic Biblical teaching about the beginning of life is that it happens on God's initiative, by God's command, in God's mind. The Biblical writers did not even have the notion of conception that we have arrived at only recently through scientific investigation."⁴ If we are both eternal and temporal beings, does our eternal life have a beginning? Or does only our temporal life have a beginning? And if so, when does our temporal life begin because God knew us before he even formed us in the womb. He knew us, called us by name, consecrated us, and called us before he formed us in our mother's wombs. I existed in the mind of God before I became an embryo, and as God is eternal and exists outside of the temporal realm, how long has the concept of "me" existed in God's mind? My physical body is only temporary house for my eternal soul, although God has me in this physical body for a reason. That reason is to bring him glory. But, if I existed in the mind of God even before he formed me, how much does the moment of conception matter? Is conception really the place to draw the line personhood begins?

The book of Judges recounts to story of Samson, who was called to be a Nazarite. A Nazarite is a person who takes a particular vow to be set apart for God's service. Samson's mother had an angelic visitation which she recounts to her husband Manoah:

"But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death." Judges 13:7 KJV

If the child shall be a Nazarite "from the womb" until the day he dies, does that mean that he is already a Nazarite within the womb, or does "from the womb" mean "when he comes from the womb" until the day he dies? Other translations, including those that have favored more translations which have shown bias towards the physicalist view, say "from birth until the day of his death." Birth is not ambiguous, if he is a Nazarite from the moment of birth he is not a Nazarite while still within the womb. Even the New International Version (NIV) and the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) which render Exodus 21:22 as a premature birth and a not a miscarriage, render this word as "birth" and not "womb." Judges chapter thirteen also fails to make a solid case that personhood commences while still within the womb.

Further Reading by Heather Carreiro:

What are Stem Cells?

The Bush Administration and Stem Cell Research

End of Life: What Does it Mean to be Brain Dead?

When Does Life Begin According to Jewish Law?

Stem Cell Resarch: A Christian Perspective

1) Jones, Susan. "South Dakota Passes Bill Criminalizing Abortions." February 11, 2004. http://www.crosswalk.com/news1245872.html

2) Breck, Father John. "Wanted: Political Party with a Consistent Life Ethic." http://www.belief.net

3) Ibid. p 182

4) "When Does Life Begin?" The Daily Bible Study. http://www.keywav.ca/mthm/2001/20010802.htm