Human Life Begins at Fertilization. Science Confirms It.

It’s not a matter of opinion…it’s biology.

From the moment of fertilization, a new, distinct, living human being comes into existence.

• “The predominance of human biological research confirms that human life begins at conception—fertilization. At fertilization, the human being emerges as a whole, genetically distinct, individuated zygotic living human organism, a member of the species Homo sapiens, needing only the proper environment in order to grow and develop.”— The American College of Pediatricians, 2017. Find this statement here: https://acpeds.org/when-human-life-begins/.
• “A zygote is the beginning of a new human being. Human development begins at fertilization, the process during which a male gamete or sperm…unites with a female gamete or oocyte…to form a single cell called a zygote. This highly specialized, totipotent cell marks the beginning of each of us as a unique individual.” – “The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology,” Keith L. Moore & T.V.N. Persaud, Mark G. Torchia, 2015. Find this college textbook here: https://www.amazon.com/Developing-Human-Clinically-Oriented-Embryology/dp/0323313388.
• “Although life is a continuous process, fertilization is a critical landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new, genetically distinct human organism is thereby formed.” – “Human Embryology & Teratology,” Ronan R. O’Rahilly, Fabiola Muller, 2001. Find this human prenatal development text here: https://www.amazon.com/Human-Embryology-Teratology-Ronan-ORahilly/dp/0471382256/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Human+Embryology+%26+Teratology%2C+Ronan+R.+O%27Rahilly%2C+Fabiola+Muller&qid=1610995359&sr=8-1/.
• “Almost all higher animals start their lives from a single cell, the fertilized ovum (zygote)…. The time of fertilization represents the starting point in the life history, or ontogeny, of the individual.” – “Patten’s Foundations of Embryology,” Bruce M. Carlson, 1988. Find this standard embryological text here: https://www.amazon.com/Pattens-Foundations-Embryology-Bradley-Merrill/dp/0070099022/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=Bruce+M.+Carlson%2C+Patten%E2%80%99s+foundations+of+embryology&qid=1610995407&sr=8-2.

According to a global survey, 96% of biologists agree: human life begins at fertilization.

• “Since a recent study suggested that 80% of Americans view biologists as the group most qualified to determine when a human's life begins, experts in biology were surveyed to provide a new perspective to the literature on experts' views on this matter. Biologists from 1,058 academic institutions around the world assessed survey items on when a human's life begins and, overall, 96% (5337 out of 5577) affirmed the fertilization view.”— “The Scientific Consensus on When a Human's Life Begins,” National Library of Medicine, 2021. Find this scientific review here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36629778/.

Every stage of fetal development is a stage of HUMAN development:

• “The difference between the individual in its adult stage and in its zygotic stage is one of form, not nature.” – The American College of Pediatricians, 2017. Find this statement here: https://acpeds.org/when-human-life-begins/.

It is undeniable. Preborn children are living, human beings, like you & me.

Abortion starves, suctions, dismembers, or poisons unique, unrepeatable human beings to death.

Chemical Abortion (Pill): 
Chemical Abortion Pills starve preborn children by cutting off the nutrients they need to survive before expelling their bodies.

• “Mifepristone is a drug that blocks a hormone called progesterone that is needed for a pregnancy to continue. Mifepristone, when used together with another medicine called misoprostol, is used to end an intrauterine pregnancy through ten weeks gestation (70 days or less since the first day of the last menstrual period).” – U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2025. Find this webpage here: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/postmarket-drug-safety-information-patients-and-providers/questions-and-answers-mifepristone-medical-termination-pregnancy-through-ten-weeks-gestation.
• “Chemical abortions now account for the majority of induced abortions in the U.S. They are typically accomplished with a two-drug regimen consisting of mifepristone followed by misoprostol. The former drug blocks the action of progesterone, depriving the developing embryo or fetus of essential nutrients and oxygen for survival. The latter causes uterine contractions that expel the embryo along with other pregnancy tissue.”— American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Find this position statement here: https://aaplog.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/20230728-Chem-Ab-One-Pager.pdf.

Suction Aspiration Abortion: 
This procedure uses a suction device 10 times stronger than a household vacuum to remove the child from the womb.

• To view a non-graphic educational video about this abortion procedure from former abortionist Dr. Anthony Levatino, see this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFZDhM5Gwhk.

Dilation & Evacuation (D&E) Abortion: 
Preborn children are dismembered limb by limb, and their remains are reassembled for inventory to ensure nothing is left inside the womb.

• To view a non-graphic educational video about this abortion procedure from former abortionist Dr. Anthony Levatino, see this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFZDhM5Gwhk.

“Heart Attack” Abortion (Feticide): 
A lethal injection of digoxin—the same chemical used in death penalty executions, is injected into the baby’s heart, causing a fatal heart attack.

 In every abortion, a human being dies.

• To view a non-graphic educational video about this abortion procedure from former abortionist Dr. Anthony Levatino, see this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFZDhM5Gwhk.

A “successful” abortion is defined by the death of an innocent preborn child.

• “An incomplete abortion is when the pregnancy has ended in miscarriage or been terminated by abortion, but pregnancy tissue is left in the uterus – in some cases this can cause an infection. A failed abortion is when an abortion was ineffective at terminating the pregnancy and the pregnancy continues. An ultrasound is needed to confirm if this is the case.” – Harmony Women’s Care, 2024. See the link to this webpage here: https://harmonycareri.org/how-do-i-know-if-my-abortion-didnt-work/.

If preborn children are living human beings like you and me... why do we allow abortion?

We use justifications for abortion that we’d never accept for born children:

• “It’s not the right time.”
• “I don’t have enough money.”
• “I don’t want a child.”
• “My boyfriend is a jerk.”
• “I feel alone.”
• “My child will have a disability.”

• “The reasons most frequently cited were that having a child would interfere with a woman's education, work or ability to care for dependents (74%); that she could not afford a baby now (73%); and that she did not want to be a single mother or was having relationship problems (48%). Nearly four in 10 women said they had completed their childbearing, and almost one-third were not ready to have a child.” – Guttmacher Institute, 2005. Find this survey here: https://www.guttmacher.org/journals/psrh/2005/reasons-us-women-have-abortions-quantitative-and-qualitative-perspectives#:~:text=The%20study%20found%20that%20the%20most%20common,related%20to%20interference%20with%20education%20or%20work.
• “For this report, we compiled publicly available data from the eight states that collected and reported 2021 data on women’s reasons for choosing abortion…Overall, common exceptions to abortion limits are estimated to account for less than 5% of all abortions. Rape and incest: 0.4%; Risk to the woman’s life or a major bodily function: 0.3%; Other physical health concerns: 2.2%; Abnormality in the unborn baby: 1.2% [and] Elective and unspecified reasons: 95.9%.” – Charlotte Lozier Institute, 2024. Find this research here: https://lozierinstitute.org/fact-sheet-reasons-for-abortion/.

Bringing a child into the world is never easy, but killing them to avoid difficulty is not acceptable.

Using these justifications for abortion is like saying it is acceptable to…

• Kill your toddler because you have too many children.
• Eradicate poor people to solve poverty.
• Euthanize the elderly because they need support.
• Leave children with disabilities to die.

We would never justify killing born humans for these reasons…  so we shouldn’t justify killing preborn humans either.

Is Abortion Human Sacrifice?

We Offer Our Preborn Children on the Altar of Choice and Freedom.

When we place fear, convenience, desire, wealth, or career above the lives of preborn children, we are sacrificing them to achieve those lesser goods.

Every time there has been human sacrifice throughout past civilizations, it was always justified with bad reasoning...

• Carthaginians Used Newborns.
  “A collaborative paper by academics from institutions across the globe, including Oxford University, suggests that Carthaginian parents ritually sacrificed young children as an offering to the gods… Children – both male and female, and mostly a few weeks old – were sacrificed by the Carthaginians at locations known as tophets. The practice was also carried out by their neighbours at other Phoenician colonies in Sicily, Sardinia and Malta. Dedications from the children's parents to the gods are inscribed on slabs of stone above their cremated remains, ending with the explanation that the god or gods concerned had 'heard my voice and blessed me'.” – “Ancient Carthaginians Really Did Sacrifice Their Children,” University of Oxford, 2014. See this source here: https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2014-01-23-ancient-carthaginians-really-did-sacrifice-their-children.
• Incas Used Children They Deemed Beautiful.
  “To create and maintain relationships with their gods, the Incas gave them a variety of offerings. These ranged from simple prayers, food, coca leaves and woven cloth to animals, blood and, in the ultimate sacrifice, human beings. In especially uncertain times, such as when an emperor died, or when volcanoes erupted or severe earthquakes or famine struck, priests sacrificed captured warriors or specially raised, perfectly formed children to the gods. The Incas believed in an afterlife and that the children they sacrificed would inhabit a better, and more abundantly provided for, world.” – Why The Incas Offered Up Child Sacrifices,” Kim MacQuarrie, 2013. See this source here: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/aug/04/why-incas-performed-human-sacrifice.
• Aztecs Used Human Hearts & Blood.
  “The rationale for Aztec human sacrifice was, first and foremost, a matter of survival, says Verano. According to Aztec cosmology, the sun god Huitzilopochtli was waging a constant war against darkness, and if the darkness won, the world would end. The keep the sun moving across the sky and preserve their very lives, the Aztecs had to feed Huitzilopochtli with human hearts and blood. Human sacrifice also served another purpose in the expanding Aztec empire of the 15th and 16th centuries: intimidation. The ritual killing of war captives and the large-scale displaying of skulls were visceral reminders of the strength of the empire and the extent of its dominion.” – “Did the Ancient Aztecs Really Perform Human Sacrifice?”, Dave Roos, 2018. See this source here: https://www.history.com/articles/aztec-human-sacrifice-religion.

Women Have Been Lied To, Coerced, & Wounded Alongside Their Children.

• Although the abortion lobby wants to make the claim that abortion “helps” women, no studies done in good faith actually prove this. Instead, the literature finds women with abortion experience often regretful and women who chose life for their child overwhelmingly positive about their choice years down the road.
  • For example, a 2023 retrospective survey was completed by American females (aged 41-45) and found that nearly 70% of those with abortion experience reported that their abortions were “accepted but inconsistent with their values and preferences” or “unwanted or coerced.” About 7 in 10 post-abortive women attributed more negative emotions and mental health outcomes to their abortions. Around 60% reported they would have actually preferred to give birth in retrospect if they had received more support from others or had more financial security. This study is entitled “The Effects of Abortion Decision Rightness and Decision Type on Women’s Satisfaction and Mental Health” and can be found at this link: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10257365/.
  • The abortion lobby often brings up the faulty Turnaway Study when discussing women being hurt by abortion access/the lack thereof — however, this study has been long debunked for its erroneous methodology.
    • According to a 2025 literature review, the main problems with the Turnaway Study include the fact that it “is based on interviews with a non-random sample consisting of a small number of participants,” “participants were missing important characteristics found in the general abortion-seeking population, thus the results cannot be generalized to the experiences of all women who undergo, or initially seek but do not undergo, abortions,” and “some papers using data from the Turnaway Study contain conclusions that are inconsistent with the actual findings.” To see this review, check it out at this link: https://lozierinstitute.org/fact-sheet-problems-and-limits-of-the-turnaway-study/.

Men Sacrifice Her & Her Baby First.

• Both qualitative and quantitative studies find women attributing their abortion decisions, at least in part, to pressure from male partners, among others (such as friends, family members, etc.).
• In a 2015 survey of survey of more than 1,030 women with abortion experience, nearly 40% said the father of the baby was the “most influential” on their decision to terminate their pregnancy. To read this study further, see this link: https://research.lifeway.com/2015/11/23/women-distrust-church-on-abortion/.
• A 2022 survey of 1,000 American men whose partners had an abortion after he made her pregnant and who knew about the pregnancy prior to the abortion found that 42% of men whose partners had an abortion say they encouraged the woman to do so, with 12% saying they strongly urged her to do so. To read more from these survey results, see this link: https://lifewayresearch.com/2022/01/21/men-play-significant-role-in-decisions-surrounding-unplanned-pregnancies/.
• The authors of another study wrote in 2023, “Even in contexts where abortion is celebrated, we find clues to a complicated picture. Abortion “wasn’t my choice,” says one writer on the advocacy site Shout Your Abortion. Her partner “told me to get a abortion right away…I wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep the baby or not but I mostly wanted to keep it. I went to the appointment Early September & got it done I was scared & I was numb & confused. Now it’s October I am 22 my ex blocked me on everything right after & left my life…It’s the women’s choice not nobody else’s. But this has affected me a lot. I get anxiety attacks/panic attacks & wish I was still pregnant sometimes…” Our research reflects this complexity…Nearly 87 percent of the survey participants indicated they experienced some form of interpersonal pressure, reporting a score greater than zero on one or more of the scales. And for the majority of women this pressure wasn’t negligible: 62 percent reported that they experienced at least “modest” interpersonal pressure, reflected in a score of 21 or greater.” To read this study and the authors’ conclusions further, see this link: https://lozierinstitute.org/study-many-women-who-had-abortions-felt-pressured-by-others/.

Preborn children deserve — at the very least — the right not to be killed.

No justification, no circumstance, is ever enough to take the life of an innocent child.

Today, we wrongly justify abortion at the expense of innocent lives. We are sacrificing our children at the altar of convenience, choice, and false freedom. They deserve better. We deserve better.

But the truth is:

• You don’t have to choose.
• You can be successful and have your child.
• You can chase your dreams without sacrificing your baby.

We Stand With Every Pregnant and Parenting Mom.

You are not alone. Real support exists for pregnant and parenting students.

Visit StandingWithYou.org for resources, mentoring, and community.

Standing With YOU, a supportive services initiative of Students for Life of America, exists to help mothers and fathers find the answers they need to become a successful parent. This resource connects students with real people who understand what an unexpected pregnancy feels like, people who know first-hand that peer-to-peer support can be priceless, and people who empower families to choose both their child and their dreams. See the webpage and learn more here: https://www.standingwithyou.org/.