Q. No one really knows when life begins. Is it really a person?

A. Actually, medical science agreed long ago that life begins at conception. A male sperm with 23 chromosomes and a femal ovum with 23 chromosomes are not a human being; but when they unite into 46 chromosomes, it is a human being. At that precise moment, the fertilized ovum has its own life-long characteristic code and identity. From this point on, it is simply a matter of its growth, not its kind. On the 7th day, it is planted in the uterus, its home until birth. By the 17th day, its heart and blood cells are formed. By the 20th day, the brain stem and nervous system are formed. At 24 days, the heart begins to beat. At 6 weeks, it looks distinctly human; by 45 days, it has its own brain waves, which it keeps for life. By 7 weeks it has all the internal organs it will have as an adult. By 9 weeks it can drink amniotic fluid. By 10 weeks all the organs are fully formed. From here on, it will increase in size. In the womb, it will suck its thumb, sleep, cry, feel pain, and recognize its mother's voice and heartbeat. What is it if not human?

Q. The mother has the right to control her own body.

A. This is true. The mother does have the right to control her own body. But, the baby is not even a part of her body. The mother is feeding the unborn baby, but the baby itself is unique. Its DNA is entirely different from the mother's; its organs are separate; its blood type may be different, its sex may be different. Does a mother have the "right" to kill her child after it is born? Then how can she have the "right" to do so before it is born? True, some women do these things, claiming a legal right to do so. Their moral right to do them is another matter.

Q. Every child has the right to a meaningful life.

A. What is a "meaningful life"? And what are the criteria for having one? Beauty? Health? Wealth? Athletic ability? Intelligence? Power? And who should decide that one person's life has meaning while another's has not? By such measure, every handicapped or retarded person in the world would have to die at birth because their "inabilities" would prevent them from having meaning in the world's eyes. Were we all without fault, would we ever have to be compassionate or patient, charitable or humble? Can man be so quick to dispose of what God has created?