Hi.

Here is a list of peer reviewed scientific papers that affirm the following fact:

A new human organism begins to exist when the process of fertilization is successfully completed. I phrase it like that to avoid failed fertilization events like a choriocarcinoma or molar pregnancies, as well as misunderstandings about what I mean by “life” (yes I know life is a continuum) or “begins” (yes I know life began a really really long time ago). It is also designed to concede the fact that there is no “moment of fertilization”, but that it is a process.

I made the URL super easy for you to share.

TheFetalPosition.com/Conception

– or –

TheFetalPosition.com/Fertilization

This is not scientifically peer reviewed, but a very well referenced paper called “When Does Human Life Begin? The Scientific Evidence and Terminology Revisited” by Maureen L. Condic. It dissects the language and general principles used by people on this subject, and is well worth the read.

This is also not a scientifically peer reviewed post, but SPL’s Human Beings Begin as Zygotes is another great overview of this discussion as it relates to the topic of abortion.

It is worth noting that the terms “conception” and “fertilization” are being used as synonyms here, but there are occasions where conception is confused with implantation. Conception/fertilization is used here to describe when two haploid gametes (sperm and ovum in this context) are successfully fused and mitotic development begins with the zygote stage. I do my best to avoid this confusion, but if you see it, please let me know.

It’s also worth pointing out that this is not meant to argue for the personhood of the embryo, or the inherent value of human beings. Those are important subjects, but this is just a list of scientific papers.

If you think a paper should be added to (or removed from) this list, send me an email at FetalPositionPodcast@gmail.com.

Without further ado, here is the ever growing list (in no particular order):

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