(A document of Life Research Institute)
Pro-life must change the answer we give to the question, “When does life begin?” Our answer is almost always “Conception.” It should always be “Fertilization.”
Judie Brown (president and founder of American Life League), Bogomir Kuhar (founder of Pharmacists for Life, International), and Dr. Bernard Nathanson agree 100%.
The conception answer previously was correct. Biology hasn’t changed, but semantics have. Perhaps to trap pro-lifers and the public into promoting contraceptives which kill, pro-abortion changed* the definition of conception from being the same as fertilization to being implantation. Thus, the following is the situation:
| Term | Old Definition | New (1965) Definition |
| Fertilization | Sperm enters egg | Sperm enters egg |
| Conception | Sperm enters egg | Baby implants |
The IUD always works by preventing conception (implantation), and the Pill works this way approximately two to ten percent of the time. Depo-Provera and Norplant work this way even more than the pill. Thus, by answering “conception,” we unwittingly promote abortion.
I am not addressing the issue of whether contraception is Biblical. I am addressing the issue of what our short, concise answer should be to a secular audience when asked “When does life begin?” For example, we might be having an interview for radio, television, or other media.
If our answer is “conception,” we are saying there is nothing wrong with contraception. After all, if life hasn’t begun, then life isn’t killed by contraception.
| If life doesn’t begin till conception, then contraception doesn’t kill life. |
It is just as easy to answer “fertilization.” Let us pray that we all do and that we purposely promote this change in our newsletters, tracts, and other information.
* Terminology Bulletin, No. 1, September 1965, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.