Image source: http://static01.nyt.com/images/2012/06/06/science/06emergency-cnd/06emergency-cnd-popup.jpg
For starters, the fertile egg is the result of a successful merging of an egg and sperm cell. But, there is something quite astounding about this union. The sperm cell, left to itself, it is incapable of growing into anything else. So also, the egg cell. As solitary cells, they soon expire. But, once merged, they burst into a phenomenally complex life form. And that complex life form is already genetically complete inside that single fertile egg. With nourishment and time, each fertile egg will become a unique adult - 100% of the time. It seems more than the sum of its parts.
Some have called the human fertile egg, "potential human life." Scientifically, this is an untenable statement. It is not "potential human life" - it is human life. It is nothing else and it cannot become anything else. The fertile human egg is simply, and only, the earliest stage of human life.
But there is something even more basic about a fertile egg. It is living matter. This may sound like a stupid observation, but it is actually quite significant. Many things are not alive. Most of the matter on our planet is not alive. Indeed, the rest of the universe may have no living matter. If all living matter was weighed against the nonliving matter, it would not amount to a speck of dust on the cosmic weighing scale. A fertile egg is an exceedingly rare piece of living matter in a universe dominated by inorganic matter.
The "Life Element"
The human body is composed of twenty-eight elements. None are alive. None of them even hint at being alive. Carbon is not alive. Iron is not alive. Lead is not alive. Calcium is not alive. Arsenic is not alive. None of the other twenty-three elements that make up our body are alive either. But, it is error to say these elements are dead - as that injects the thought that life is in some way connected with them. Organic chemistry is itself composed of elements that are, in and of themselves, inorganic. Life, whatever it is, is alien to every element. How any combination of non-living elements is alive ... is a total mystery. When present, the "life element" is obviously there - but, it continues to elude the scientist's grasp.
If the fertile egg does not contain all of these twenty-eight elements, then this "life element" is all the more remarkable. It attracts the missing elements at the appropriate times, and in the appropriate quantities, in the construction of the body. It is "feeding" on the inorganics around it. But, too much lead, iron or arsenic will result in the "life element" vacating the matter in which it resides - as will too little of these elements. This is too astounding to comprehend.
But, is it "a person?"
With that question, we have now entered ... the abortion argument. Is the fertile egg, "a person?" There are three perspectives from which to examine this question - Naturalism, Theism and Humanism. But, I have decided to introduce a fourth view. And I want to start there - now ... with you. I want you to put yourself in the shoes ... of a fertile egg. You are now a fertile egg.
A clock turned on the instant you became a fertile egg. With time and nourishment, you will turn into a unique adult - 100% of the time. Come to think of it ... that is exactly what you did. Now, at some point in your development, some adults decided to bestow upon you the title of "person" or "being." Of course, the instant you were crowned as such, nothing physically changed. And, had this apposition been withheld, well, that would not have changed anything either. Actually, this title has no physical impact - one way or the other. So, what is this title? Well, it is ... a word. It is a metaphysical, subjective concept based upon nothing but the thin air between the ears of the adult humans bestowing it. One proof that "being" is based upon nothing, lies in the fact that the credentialing adults do not agree on what it is, what it means ... or when it starts. It is bestowed at all kinds of arbitrary points along the life-line. Some wait until a few weeks in, some a few months, and some do not grant this magical designation until air can be breathed. "Being" can be summed up in one word - "opinion." O fertile egg, this opinion has no effect on the physical reality of your one-way march into unique adulthood.
The Naturalist ... and "Being"
For the Naturalist (atheistic evolutionist), the question of "being" is as ridiculous as it is irrelevant. It is an attempt to separate humans from simply being an animal. I know of no one who examines other species and wonders when they reach "dog-hood" or "cow-hood." This "being" query is immediately, and forever, rejected.
Also, from the Naturalist's viewpoint, deliberate interference in the progress of a fertile egg is the activity of fools. All life forms are in a continuous, ferocious struggle for survival. Since profitable mutations arise randomly, each fertile egg is Evolution's jewel until it proves itself otherwise. Any one may contain the needed adaptation(s) for that life line to continue. Each fertile egg is the future of any species.
The Biblical Theist ... and "Being"
For the Biblical Theist, this personhood concept is also irrelevant. Since God "Himself gives to all life" (Acts 17:25), if the "being" designation is one He concerns Himself with, well, that is a transaction between Himself and that life. Everyone else is outside the loop.
Also, from a Biblical viewpoint, assaulting a fertile egg is beyond being a fool. It is insanity. "The hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives" (Eccl 9:3). God, "the Lord ... makes alive" (1Sam 2:6), and the stronger among us are given a special charge for protecting the weaker. Assaults upon "innocent human life" at any point along its lifeline ... well, you do the math.
The Humanist ... and "Being"
For the Humanist, this personhood issue is of great importance. By withholding this designation, the "non-being" is relegated to a blob of protoplasm. It depends on which Humanist you are talking with as to when "being" arrives. For some, it is when the umbilical cord is cut. For others, being "wanted" by one or more of the parents, earns "personhood" - while still in the womb. Other Humanists talk in terms of trimesters - so, it depends upon which Humanist you are talking with as to what opinion you will hear on the "being" issue. But all Humanists do agree on one point. Before the moment when "being" is reached, anyone can do anything he/she wants with this subhuman blob of protoplasm.
A Word To - "Mom"
Mom, if you search every mountaintop, every ocean bottom, every cave on earth - and even scour the nest of every living thing - in all of nature, you will not find even one human egg. If you look into a clear night sky, that vast universe (of which you are seeing the tiniest fraction) does not have ... one human egg. If humanity is valuable, there is only one place it originates - in you. Through you comes the world's leaders, artists, inventors, doctors, teachers, thinkers ... and no one knows who will come from any particular womb. Many of the world's greatest citizens have arisen from the most humble of circumstances. Our future develops in your womb. You are humanity's gatekeeper.
Conclusion
Each fertile egg is a one-of-a-kind entity in all of past reality, present reality, and future reality. Each is genetically complete, astoundingly unique and beyond replication. Also, it is an exceedingly rare piece of living matter. It contains genetic "triggers" that engage at the proper times so the correct elements, in proper proportions, are corralled for the construction that unique adult. The fertile egg of the human - is the most sophisticated physical entity in the known universe. No matter rivals it. Scientifically, I have only scratched the surface in describing the physical reality of one fertile egg. The abortion debate begins here. I now stand in awe of the fertile egg ... and its Creator.
