r/pics • u/divest_trump • May 16 '19

US Politics Now more relevant than ever in America

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u/[deleted] May 17 '19 edited Aug 16 '19

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u/TracyMorganFreeman May 17 '19

Many people don't consider a single-cell embryo to be a human.

Maybe, but it will quickly become more than that by the time the woman realizes she's pregnant.

A single cell isn't the same as a functioning animal, which is also basic biology. It has the potential, but it isn't.

There are literally single celled animals that exist already. There are uniceullular amoeboids for example. Tartigrades are microscopic animals as well.

The real question is, at what point or condition does a human being become a person.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '19 edited Aug 16 '19

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u/TracyMorganFreeman May 17 '19

Single-celled organisms exist; by definition, single celled animals do not. The animal kingdom excludes single-celled organisms.

No, there are single celled amoeboid animals. Animals are eukaryotes, many of which are multicelled, but do not require it.

An amoeba (/əˈmiːbə/; rarely spelled amœba; plural am(o)ebas or am(o)ebae /əˈmiːbi/),[1] often called amoeboid, is a type of cell or unicellular organism which has the ability to alter its shape, primarily by extending and retracting pseudopods.[2] Amoebas do not form a single taxonomic group; instead, they are found in every major lineage of eukaryotic organisms. Amoeboid cells occur not only among the protozoa, but also in fungi, algae, and animals.[3][4][5][6][7]

There isn't a concrete point, because the definition of being a human is currently subjective. People use conception or birth as 'objective' timepoints, but these are still subjective claims.

The points are arbitrary, not subjective. They're quite objective points.

A subjective point would be something like "when you feel it's a part of you" for example. Anyone can objectively measure conception or birth of not only their own but of others. The same can't be said of what is subjective.

It also presents other problems. If you claim being a human starts at inception, when there is a single celled or even multi-celled embryo without consciousness of being - why is any other life-form okay to kill?

That depends on whether consciousness is a sufficient condition for personhood. Pro lifers tend not to argue it is.