The Three Forms of Human Life

Bob Kroepel
Copyright © 2012
Lakeside Studios
New Durham, NH USA 03855

There are three forms of human life: (1) The Human Adult (The Born Human); (2) The Human Gamete (The Human Egg/Human Sperm); (3) The Human Zygote (The Human Fetus, The Unborn Human)

Adult = Born Individual = Individual capable of producing gametes necessary under normal/non-cloning reproductive conditions.

Gamete = Egg or Sperm = Reproductive cells necessary for sexual reproduction under non-cloning conditions.

Zygote = Fertilized Gamete = Fertilized egg, a fetus, an unborn individual.

Note: -> = Symbol designating 'evolves into, develops into, becomes,' etc.

Human Life Form = (A) Adult or (B) Gamete or (C) Zygote.

I.e., "human life form" = any human cells including human eggs/sperm or human organisms including born/adult individual humans and unborn/zygote individual humans capable of/involved in human reproduction to avoid confusions with human skin cells, human cancer cells, human organs, etc. are generally not labeled "human life forms."

The True Facts of Human Life: Early Life Forms -> Human Life Forms -> Human Parents -> Human Gametes -> Human Zygotes.

Restated: From early life forms human life forms develop/evolve, which include human parents who produce human gametes [human eggs/sperm] which when fertilized conceive and produce human zygotes.

Life began a long time ago, when the first life forms evolved from non-life forms.

Life continued from those early life forms to the present life forms.

Those of us alive today are direct descendants of the first life forms; we could not be here if there had been a break in the chain of our causality via evolution from the first life forms.

The first life forms were adults capable of reproducing, first by cell division, later through sexual union.

Thus, the answer to "Which came first--the chicken or the egg?!?!?!" is "The chicken!!!"

Restated: If "chicken" = adult/born/hatched/etc. life form and "egg" = unborn/unhatched/etc. life form, then, on the premise that the adult/born/hatched/etc. must come before the unborn/unhatched/etc., the chicken/adult/born/hatched/etc. came before the egg/unborn/unhatched/etc.

What has been omitted from this famous question are the gametes.

If the question "Which came first--the chicken or the egg?!?!?!" is reworded (A) "Which came first–the chicken or the chicken's gametes?!?!?!" or (B) "Which came first—the chicken, the chicken's gametes, or the chicken's zygote(s)?!?!?!", then the obvious answers have to be (A) "The chicken!!!" and (B) "The chicken!!!"

Among humans, and under normal human reproduction conditions (non-cloning conditions), zygotes do not happen without gametes, and gametes do not happen without adults.

Thus, among human life forms, the sequence is thus: (1) Human Adults/Born Human Individuals -> (2) Human Gametes -> (3) Human Zygotes/Unborn Human Individuals.

Restated: (1) Human adults cause (2) human gametes which cause (3) human zygotes.

One of the biological characteristics of human skin cells, cancer cells, reproductive cells/gametes/eggs/sperm, zygotes, and adults, is the presence of DNA which is uniquely human, and is labeled "human DNA" in contrast to DNA which is non-human and, therefore, is labeled "non-human DNA."

Thus, biologically, to be "human" is to have—be biologically based upon/be caused by—human DNA.

Inre human reproduction, the human reproductive cells known as gametes have human DNA; human adults and human zygotes likewise have human DNA.

Thus, all three human life forms—the human adult, the human gamete, the human zygote—are "human" because they biologically contain/are based upon/are caused by human DNA.

Obviously, the corollary is that any life forms which are "non-human" are "non-human" because they biologically contain/are based upon/are caused by non-human DNA.

Human adults/borns and human zygotes/unborns have the full complement of human chromosomes.

Human gametes have only half the full complement of human chromosomes; one-half of the chromosomes from one adult.

This fact does not mean that human gametes are non-human. Human chromosomes are comprised of human DNA--they would have to be or otherwise they would not be "human"; therefore, human gametes, comprised of human DNA, are human life forms.

Thus, inre human chromosomes, because human chromosomes are comprised of human DNA and are involved in human reproduction, and all human adults, gametes and zygotes contain human chromosomes and therefore human DNA, then human adults, human gametes, and human zygotes are all human life forms.

Anti-abortionists/Anti-choicers keep raising a strawman of 'complete human being.'

If 'complete human' or 'complete human being' is to be used this phrase must be operationally defined.

If the anti-s claim that 'complete human/human being' is operationally defined to mean 'capable of developing into an human adult' then this phrase applies also to human gametes as well as human zygotes because human gametes are 'capable of developing into human adults' by conception into zygotes, and this conception process is absolutely necessary for zygotes to form.

The fact is that under normal reproductive processes in the early stages of a pregnancy a zygote/fetus has to have a host, a womb, and cannot proceed without such host, and, therefore, cannot become/be a 'complete human being' without such host, and, therefore, is not a 'complete human being' and as such can be terminated by elective abortion for any reasons.

Retated: In the normal reproductive sequence, a zygote/fetus in its early existence is not a 'complete human being' because it cannot survive without a host/womb, and, therefore, not being a 'complete human being,' the zygote/fetus can be terminated by elective abortions, and such termination by elective abortions cannot be called the murder of a 'complete human being.'

The proper view of a zygote/fetus is that it is an 'incomplete human/human being' because of its dependency upon its host, its mother. Absent direct medical intervention, if the host/mother dies, the zygote/fetus dies, a fact which is direct evidence/physical evidence/medical evidence, and therefore proof, that the zygote/fetus is an 'incomplete human/human being.'

The US Const. 14th Amendt.: "All persons born ... [and living in a US jurisdiction are entitled (A) to become US citizens and (B) to US legal system due process/equal protection]" thus recognizes that a zygote/fetus is not a LEGAL 'complete human/human being' entitled to US citizenship and US legal due process/equal protection because it is not a 'born' human being, which is to say that it is not a 'born person.'

Until the US Const. is changed, the US Const. 14th Amendt. phrase "All persons born ... [and living in a US jurisdiction]" define who/what is a legal person entitled to (A) become a US Citizen and (B) US legal due process/equal protection, and zygotes/fetuses being unborn, are thus not entitled to legal status and the resulting entitlements due to persons of such legal status.

Thus, by the US Const. 14th Amendt.: "All persons born ... [and living in a US jurisdiction are entitled (A) to become US citizens and (B) to US legal system due process/equal protection]," a zygote/fetus, being an unborn person, is not entitled to US legal due process/equal protection and its termination by elective abortion is not murder.