[Clock King]

"At the moment of conception" is the problem most scientific thinkers (like myself) have a problem with. 46 chromosomes. That's exactly what EVERY cell in your body has right now, except your sex cell (sperm or ovum -- 23 each). And I personally would not call a zygote an embryo. Until it can implant itself in the uterine wall, that zygote is just a clump of cells, and sometimes they don't plant themselves and are flushed out in the menstrual cycle. Just a part of nature.

Why is the fertilized egg different? I would say the most fascinating aspect of this tiny life is that somehow, as it divides, it "knows" how to begin to differentiate itself. Some cells become skin, some nerves, some muscle, etc. How(!) does it know this? I don't think science has come up with a good answer yet. As I said, every cell in your body has 46 chromosomes, an exact replica of your original DNA. Yet, A skin cell "knows" it's a skin cell, muscle "knows" it's muscle, blood "knows" it's blood and not something else (at least in healthy humans). That to me, is miraculous.

[redangus]

Unlike the other cells in the woman's body however this cell has its own unique chromosomal make-up. It is not part of the mother's body. The mother is just the incubator for the developing child. That is why even at the point of conception it is a child not a choice.

There is a big difference between the woman's body naturally flushing the fertilized cell out of the body, which is basically a miscarriage vs the woman actively having the cell removed.

I am a biologist by education and trade so I know a little about these things.