Quote:
"Human development begins after the union of male and female gametes or germ cells during a process known as fertilization (conception).
"Fertilization is a sequence of events that begins with the contact of a sperm (spermatozoon) with a secondary oocyte (ovum) and ends with the fusion of their pronuclei (the haploid nuclei of the sperm and ovum) and the mingling of their chromosomes to form a new cell. This fertilized ovum, known as a zygote, is a large diploid cell that is the beginning, or primordium, of a human being."
(.Essentials of Human Embryology. Toronto: B.C. Decker Inc, 1988)
"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."
( Foundations of Embryology. 6th edition.Carlson, Bruce M. Patte)
I won't spend a lot of time on the science aspect, since there are just as many scientists who do not think human life begins at conception. Let's avoid dueling science quotes. In plain language, a fertilized egg does not look like a baby, does not smell like a baby, does not act like a baby or do any of the things associated with a baby. Oh, say the anti-abortion crowd, it has DNA so it is a baby. A severed arm has DNA also. Is a severed arm a baby?