Quote Originally Posted by Kittens! View Post
Sorry to derail the thread again, but I need to respond to the earlier post. I assumed you held religious beliefs because that would be the only rational reason to believe that life begins at conception (even if religion is technically irrational). Logic would dictate that human life begins when the conscience forms in the brain, because a conscience is the main factor that separates us from animals.
No, that's faulty logic. The consciousness of a foetus is nowhere near advanced enough to distinguish it as "human". Human life begins when a creature that is of the species homo sapien can be considered "alive", which is really either conception or first heart beat (take your pick) -- the human person's life begins when it becomes a person, which is when it can distinguish time and has an idea of itself, as Solecistic said, at about 3 years old.

A human foetus is less sapient than a crab. There is no meaningful reason why the life of a foetus (or a baby) is more valuable than the life of a crab EXCEPT inasmuch as it has far more potential.