Names for the unborn

Following on from yesterday’s post, recent discussions on Facebook have reminded me of how the abortion debate often turns around the question of language.

A few months ago I had posted an article about abortion and one of my friends wrote this response:

“You’re going to have a hard time convincing someone zygote development at 4 weeks is a fetus… When we talk in terms of a 6 week fetus it’s probably closer to bundles of cells than it is to a fetus…”

My friend’s response shows why it’s important to have a good grasp of biology when speaking about the unborn. What do we mean when we use words like “zygote”, “embryo” and “fetus”?

Development

“Zygote”, “embryo” and “fetus” are all simply labels which describe the developmental stage of the human child, much like “infant”, “toddler” or “teenager”. A zygote is a diploid cell which is the result of fertilization of an egg by a sperm. After about twenty-four hours, cell division begins and we move from the zygote phase of development to the embryonic. After eight weeks, we move from the embryonic to the fetal.

Hopefully it’s now clear as to why I’d never try to convince someone that “zygote development at 4 weeks is a fetus”…because it’s not! It would be as nonsensical as talking about an eight-year-old toddler or a twenty-year-old teenager.

Developmental Cheat Sheet

Zygote: Human development within the first 24 hours

Embryo: After 24 hours of life, when cell division has begun. It remains in this stage for the first eight weeks.

Fetus: A development stage following eight weeks of life up until birth.

Infant: Up to twelve months after birth

Toddler: 1-3 years after birth

Adolescent: The time after birth when conversation is exchanged for incoherent grunts and parents are treated as a cross between an ATM and a taxi service.

Regardless of the name we use to describe someone’s age, all humans deserve to be protected.

One comment

  • I am often amused with all this talk about terminology by those of the pro-abortion persuasion. I’m not a biology major so I can’t even attempt to engage in a discussion with these terms. Relative to the issue at hand they really don’t matter anyway. Sure, these terms reflect various stages of development and might be important for those in the field of biological studies but we shouldn’t get distracted. If someone feels compelled to have such labels, how about these:

    Zygote: Human development within the first 24 hours

    Embryo: Human development after 24 hours of human life, when cell division has begun

    Fetus: Human development following eight weeks of human life

    Infant: A human up to twelve months after birth

    Toddler: A human 1-3 years after birth

    Adolescent: The time after birth when conversation is exchanged for incoherent grunts and parents are treated as a cross between an ATM and a taxi service. (No comment)

    Keep up the Good Fight David!

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