At the center of the debates about abortion, stem cell research, and a host of other issues lies the question of when human life begins. Religious conservatives often argue that “the Bible teaches” a human life begins at conception and therefore all the legal rights belonging to an adult human being belong to the recently fertilized egg. Others insist that a gradually developing fetus is only gradually acquiring the characteristics, and the rights, of a human being. Religious liberals more often argue that in a situation of conflict between a mother’s needs and interests of a potential child, there is no easy answer to the question about the beginning of human life. So, this brings the inquiring mind back to the basic question: “What does the Bible actually teach about the beginning of human life?
