I was completely dumbfounded when I read the following statements from Planned Parenthood's website (hat tips to The Dawn Patrol and LifeSite):
"When does being a person begin?" Most medical authorities and Planned Parenthood agree that it starts when a baby takes its first breath...
She [chooses what to do with her 'pregnancy'] based on her own needs, ethics, and religious belief about when being a person begins. It would be wrong to force her to observe someone else's religious belief.
This is sickening.
Imposing religious beliefs?
This ain't a religious belief. This is cold, hard fact. There's a human person inside that womb.
Someone may argue that the 'blob of tissue' (scientific term: 'fetus') isn't a person until a couple weeks into pregnancy, when the heartbeat and brain waves begin, or later in the pregnancy, when there is evidence of sensory perception in the fetus.
But even this is stretching it, because there must be a certain time when human life begins, for the sake of determining whether or not abortion or abortifacents are morally and ethically acceptible. The most logical time would be the moment of conception. From conception onward, the fetus looks more like a 'normal' human by degree only; the human DNA, the genetic makeup of what makes a human a human, is fully defined and translated into every new cell in this fetus' body. Once the sperm and egg cells meet, there is no chance that a dog, or a flower, or a rock will be produced. No—this is a developing human. Once outside of the womb, the baby is still not fully able to support himself; he still needs protection, milk, and comfort (and, sometimes, a little extra medical attention).
To say that the fetus isn't a person until he is completely outside of the womb and takes his first breath is a completely ridiculous claim!
My little sister was born 3 months premature, via a cesarean section, and she was quite fully alive at the time of her birth (despite being only 1 pound, 6 ounces). You cannot claim that a fetus/baby is not a person until it is breathing outside the womb. That is wrong.