If a cell is the smallest living thing, how can people say fetuses aren't alive?

That's typically not the question. The question is when/whether a fetus is HUMAN life. My belief is that it is from the moment of conception, but I'm one of those abortion opponents who does not believe the answer lies in more government meddling into the healthcare decisions of a potential mother. I would prefer that society address the issue by way of 'peer pressure' or similar, if you will.

No one said they weren't 'alive'. A fetus cannot naturally (without any help) live outside of the womb (is not viable for life) and the thalamus (part of the brain necessary to register pain) as well as many other major organs has not (fully) developed.

A person is a human capable of sustaining life independent from it's host. Therefore, a fetus is not a person. The thalamus is, typically, developed at 26 weeks gestation and by this time a large percentage of the unborn are viable for life (and are generally now referred to as an 'unborn baby'). Also, (to my knowledge) all legal abortions in the US must happen by the 24th week. All induced abortions after this point are illegal. Legal abortion is not murder.

They deny they are alive so they don't feel remorse over killing them. These are some of the same people that would wish someone dead for cruelty to animals or deforestation so they have to justify it in their minds by saying it was never alive.

IT IS IF IT WAS DEAD IT WOULDON"T KICK AT A SERTAION MOTH BE 4 ITS BORN

O.o

Well, i just farted. Bacteria and other cells exist in that gas, so by your logic. Did i just give birth?

You can easily scratch your nose and kill hundreds of cells.

No one said a fetus isn't alive. A fetus does not fit the legal definition of a "person" though.

Don't anyone look at a picture of an aborted baby and tell me, that's not a human being

BECAUSE THEYRE DUMB--LACK INTELLGENCE,HONEY....SIMPLE AS THAT.

:D

I don't see people going berserk over every single cell that is murdered by various different activities that we people perform on our skin alone. I mean come on!! They're living beings too! And with so much potential! You heartless monsters should be ashamed of yourselves every time you damage your skin or get tattoos or piercings. SMH skin cells deserve to live out their full life-spans.

i think that few people would contend that the fetus is not alive ... many people focus on the fact that it does not and cannot exist independently of its mother ...

They have to justify the murder so they convince themselves there was never a life to begin with.

Bacteria is alive....OH NOES I ATE SOME YOGURT :O

That doesn't make it a human being.

what about a human egg that's only still in cell form?

person hood has no clear beginning, even scientifically speaking. If it did i find it highly unlikely abortion would be such a controversial topic. There is a line somewhere, and you must decide where to draw it. When does a child die, and when does masturbation turn into genocide?

Who endowed you with the right to life?

scientifically? my birth parents. Legally? The united states Constitution.

Wrong, the Constitution gives you no rights whatsoever.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. You have rights because you are a human being and for being a citizen.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are not even mentioned in the Constitution. You have no idea what you're talking about.

no its not, its a phrase leading towards the existent of inalienable rights for all humans.

Inalienable rights endowed by whom?

i know you to well rusty. You will not win a religious debate with me so i suggest you look elsewhere. Rights, be them humanistic or legal, have never be endowed upon us by any sort of creator.

Our country was founded upon the self evident truth that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

I understand that you disagree with this LEGAL argument, but then again, not everyone agrees with American principles.

This country has always been a secular nation. And as long as i am here the separation of church and state will stand.

OK, I get it, you fundamentally disagree with the Declaration of Independence.

and you with the us constitution and interpretations backed up with numerous scotus decisions. Its ok im sure you think Thomas Jefferson didn't know what he was talking about either. SMH

The separation of church and state was in a letter to the Danbury Baptists to let them know the government could not interfere or deny their religious rights. Radical Atheists use the quote to establish Atheism as the national religion, but up until the 1960s, the Bible was read in schools and the 10 Commandments adorned public buildings. Without the freedom to explore all possibilities, there can be no personal growth, just programming.

They don't; the argument is whether or not they are human beings at such an early stage of development.

oh no people say when you get rid of it in cell form its not alive yet..

I'm not sure I've heard that argument. I think they're trying to argue that the fetus isn't alive as a human being. Hmm...

they argue there is yet no soul

I believe there's a soul in there; whether or not he or she surfaces on Earth through birth is up to the mother...

My hair is alive should i not cut it?

hair is dead.. the root is alive ^.^