[exDemMom]

But science has advanced enough to define what makes a 'person,' as legal standards require, as a living human being. Those defining characteristics exist from the moment of conception to the moment of death and exist regardless of developmental stage, injury or illness.

Everything I have explained about the early events following conception is firmly based in science. Being a working scientist, I can give no other account. The fact is that, scientifically, the defining characteristics of a human being are not present at conception. The process of developing as a human being takes years. The only truly defining characteristic of a human being is the ability to think and perceive--an ability that only begins sometime between weeks 3 and 5 after conception.

[TigersEye]

The process of developing as a human being takes years.

Then by that logic even a five year old can't definitively be called a living human being. Why else would you make that statement other than to equivocate in defense of your loose statements made about the earliest stages of development?

[TigersEye]

The only truly defining characteristic of a human being is the ability to think and perceive--an ability that only begins sometime between weeks 3 and 5 after conception.

That is an entirely subjective philosophical statement as there are no scientific means to verify it. It isn't even possible to verify that a person in a coma can think or perceive.