Where life begins

I feel I really need to say a word about life.  Does life begin at conception or does life begin when the baby draws its first breath?  This is a question that has been thrown out in recent arguments about abortion. If an unborn child’s inability to breathe on its own disqualifies it from being considered a living person, there is a very bad extension that can be drawn.

There are times where, through traumatic event or disease a person, regardless of age, may become unable to breathe on their own and must be given the benefit of artificial ventilation to provide their lungs with life giving air for preservation of their life.

But if ability to breathe is the determining factor, once a person stops breathing should further efforts to save that life be with-held because the definition of life is now a person’s ability to draw their own breath.

Almost everyone will agree that everything should be done to save that life.  We have developed emotional attachments to this person and we do not want to lose them.  So if we can do anything to preserve their lives we will try to save them.

Even if the person in distress is a total stranger, we recognize that person as a living human being, so the fact that they have stopped breathing will not deter us from trying to save their life.

Should we not recognize the unborn child also as a person?