• Question: When do you think life begins? Contraception, Babies first heart beat etc..

    Asked by thoma058 to Emma, Jimmy, Janet, Niall, Simon on 13 Mar 2013.
    • Photo: James Holloway

      James Holloway answered on 13 Mar 2013:

      Life begins at conception (the zygote is alive as any bacteria or algae is), but i think ‘when does consciousness begin’ is the question we should be asking.

      Is it when the baby develops a pain reflex? There are images of babies in the womb flinching from pain. Is it when they first start sucking their thumb? Is it when they start kicking?

      I think yes to all of the above things. If they baby has a functioning nervous system then I think it has a semblance of consciousness, however remote.

    • Photo: Niall Crawford

      Niall Crawford answered on 14 Mar 2013:

      A baby in a womb would not be able to live long without the connection it has with its mother via the placenta. It’s a difficult question to answer.

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