Abortion: Why?

She was bright in her early years, showing promise as early as third grade. She loved to talk about how much she wanted to help the homeless, even at the age of 12! She set up a program in an inner city to help the underprivileged, gaining her respect and adoration. She had a family, an identity, a future. She changed lives. She may have changed YOUR life someday, had her mother not made the decision to abort her. Today, I ask you, the people of the world, to consider this; when one life is lost, no matter how early in gestation, we lose the benefits of that life, the futures of the people that life touched, and the lives they may have created. There are, of course, scientific and moral concerns on both sides of the argument, but today I'm going to ask you a simple question: Why not? Why not let them live? Let these beings, still in thought, the seeds of human potential and promise, live! I will pose to you points and counterpoints in the attempt to steer you the best choice; the choice of life. A main spot of contention is the very essence of life: when is a person, a person? The Association of Pro-Life Physicians states "life begins at fertilization, when a sperm unites with an oocyte. From this moment, the being is highly organized, has the ability to acquire materials and energy, has the ability to respond to his or her environment, has the ability to adapt, and has the ability to reproduce (the cells divide, then divide again, etc., and barring pathology and pending reproductive maturity has the potential to reproduce other members of the species)." (Moore & Persaud, The Developing Human, p.310; Nilsson & Hamberger, A Child is Born, p.86; Rugh & Shettles, From Conception to Birth, p.217.) However, some scientists postulate human life begins around day 18, when the heart of the fetus starts beating. Does this mean a person is a person at the moment of conception, or when the thing that defines us, a beating heart, is formed? Regardless of