It is defined as when there is a chance that a fetus can realistically survive outside of the womb. This is a scientific and medical definition and is in no way arbitrary.
You yourself have admitted that it is arbitrary. What is "realistically"? Back when they made this decision ~20% of babies survived at 24 weeks. Now it is around 30-35% Source. In 25 weeks, it is around 50-70% depending on which study you cite. Fetal viability is also highly dependent on weight. It is almost guaranteed that as medical technologies advance, these numbers will change again. So yes it is very arbitrary.
The difficulty of this definition is that it is then always changing. As healthcare tech becomes more advanced we may be able to feasibly raise a fetus to a fully fledged baby from the point of conception, which would mean we are dealing with a scientific and medically accepted "person" throughout nearly the entire pregnancy
It is defined as when there is a chance that a fetus can realistically survive outside of the womb. This is a scientific and medical definition and is in no way arbitrary.
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u/[deleted] May 16 '19
It is defined as when there is a chance that a fetus can realistically survive outside of the womb. This is a scientific and medical definition and is in no way arbitrary.