Pro Person

At what point does a fetus become a person? Not, in my view, at the instant of conception as proclaimed by the pope and endorsed by some radical Pro Lifers. They base their assertion primarily on the fact that the conceptus contains the full complement of genetic material necessary to become an adult. But that simply makes the conceptus a potential person. Every somatic cell in our bodies also possesses that same genetic material and could, therefore, at least in theory, be cloned into a complete human being---a potential potential person! So, by extension of the Pro Life logic, am I guilty of murder (or suicide) every time I scratch an itch?!

I conclude, as have legion scientists and philosophers, that my distinguishing personness--who I am--emanates from, and resides within, my actively functioning brain.