The first point that I will make is that fetuses do not develop like cars. What I mean by this is fetuses have the potential to actually develop human and personal properties and that is their only potential due to their genetic makeup. They cannot be turned into anything else whereas parts to a car can be melted down and reshaped to become objects that do not relate to a car in any way. Another point is that of Peter Kreeft in his article “Human Personhood Begins at Conception.” He states that those who say fetuses and zygotes are not persons say this functionally, by defining a person based on their functions and behavior, especially when they claim that zygotes cannot reason, choose, or communicate, etc. The issue with this functional claim is that it lacks common sense, which more often than not, distinguishes between what one is and what one does thus between being a person and functioning as a person. This is like saying we are not persons when we are in a deep sleep, in a coma, and in early infancy, which we do not agree with. Zygotes must be human beings in order to grow human brains and develop human body parts. Kreeft also states the following: “One cannot function as a person without being a person, but one can surely be a person without functioning as a person.” If personhood was a developing thing, like so many prochoice advocates like to point out, then, in actuality, we are never fully persons because we are constantly growing throughout our life, whether it be physically or mentally. An argument that supports the claim that abortion is morally impermissible without making an appeal to religion nor to personhood is Don Marquis’ ‘Future like Ours’ argument from his article “Why Abortion is Immoral.” Nowhere in his article does he mention religion nor
The first point that I will make is that fetuses do not develop like cars. What I mean by this is fetuses have the potential to actually develop human and personal properties and that is their only potential due to their genetic makeup. They cannot be turned into anything else whereas parts to a car can be melted down and reshaped to become objects that do not relate to a car in any way. Another point is that of Peter Kreeft in his article “Human Personhood Begins at Conception.” He states that those who say fetuses and zygotes are not persons say this functionally, by defining a person based on their functions and behavior, especially when they claim that zygotes cannot reason, choose, or communicate, etc. The issue with this functional claim is that it lacks common sense, which more often than not, distinguishes between what one is and what one does thus between being a person and functioning as a person. This is like saying we are not persons when we are in a deep sleep, in a coma, and in early infancy, which we do not agree with. Zygotes must be human beings in order to grow human brains and develop human body parts. Kreeft also states the following: “One cannot function as a person without being a person, but one can surely be a person without functioning as a person.” If personhood was a developing thing, like so many prochoice advocates like to point out, then, in actuality, we are never fully persons because we are constantly growing throughout our life, whether it be physically or mentally. An argument that supports the claim that abortion is morally impermissible without making an appeal to religion nor to personhood is Don Marquis’ ‘Future like Ours’ argument from his article “Why Abortion is Immoral.” Nowhere in his article does he mention religion nor