No, life does not begin at conception. When life begins is determined by pro-aborts using a Ouija board. Generally, the supernatural event defining the beginning of life that magically occurs sometime during pregnancy can be found by taking the moment of abortion and adding 5 minutes to it, thus alleviating the guilt of the abortionist, abortive woman, and bro-choicer who dragged her into the abortuary.

"Life is a continuum. Life on earth has started a few billion years ago and didn't stop since then. Or are you claiming sperm and egg cells are not alive? It would surprise me if scientists from Northwestern University really stated that 'Life begins with a “flash of light” or “fireworks"'. And it would really surprise me if abortionist used this silly argument."

Confusing sperm and egg cells with a conceived human shows how science-phobic you are, John. It seems to be a Hail Mary effort lately by pro-aborts to equate sperm to a human being and claim that masturbation is genocide. It must be difficult for the superstitious ones to accept that they were once zygotes, embryos, fetuses. For those of us who actually do science - and understand the difference between sperm and humans:

“Fertilization is the process by which male and female haploid gametes (sperm and egg) unite to produce a genetically distinct individual.” Signorelli et al., Kinases, phosphatases and proteases during sperm capacitation, CELL TISSUE RES. 349(3):765 (Mar. 20, 2012)

"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." [Moore, Keith L. Essentials of Human Embryology. Toronto: B.C. Decker Inc, 1988, p.2]

"The development of a human being begins with fertilization, a process by which two highly specialized cells, the spermatozoon from the male and the oocyte from the female, unite to give rise to a new organism, the zygote." [Langman, Jan. Medical Embryology. 3rd edition. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1975, p. 3]

“Human life begins at fertilization, the process during which a male gamete or sperm (spermatozoo developmentn) unites with a female gamete or oocyte (ovum) to form a single cell called a zygote. This highly specialized, totipotent cell marked the beginning of each of us as a unique individual.” “A zygote is the beginning of a new human being (i.e., an embryo).” Keith L. Moore, The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, 7th edition. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders, 2003. pp. 16, 2.

“Your baby starts out as a fertilized egg— For the first six weeks, the baby is called an embryo.” Prenatal Care, US Department Of Health And Human Services, Maternal and Child Health Division, 1990

Landrum B. Shettles, M.D., P.h.D. was first scientist to succeed at in vitro fertilization:

“The zygote is human life—.there is one fact that no one can deny; Human beings begin at conception.”

“The zygote and early embryo are living human organisms.”

Keith L. Moore & T.V.N. Persaud Before We Are Born – Essentials of Embryology and Birth Defects (W.B. Saunders Company, 1998. Fifth edition.) Page 500

Ronan O’Rahilly and Fabiola Miller, Human Embryology and Teratology, 3rd edition. New York: Wiley-Liss, 2001. p. 8.

“Although life is a continuous process, fertilization— is a critical landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new genetically distinct human organism is formed when the chromosomes of the male and female pronuclei blend in the oocyte.”

“[All] organisms, however large and complex they might be as full grown, begin life as a single cell. This is true for the human being, for instance, who begins life as a fertilized ovum.”

Dr. Morris Krieger “The Human Reproductive System” p 88 (1969) Sterling Pub. Co

“The first cell of a new and unique human life begins existence at the moment of conception (fertilization) when one living sperm from the father joins with one living ovum from the mother. It is in this manner that human life passes from one generation to another. Given the appropriate environment and genetic composition, the single cell subsequently gives rise to trillions of specialized and integrated cells that compose the structures and functions of each individual human body. Every human being alive today and, as far as is known scientifically, every human being that ever existed, began his or her unique existence in this manner, i.e., as one cell. If this first cell or any subsequent configuration of cells perishes, the individual dies, ceasing to exist in matter as a living being. There are no known exceptions to this rule in the field of human biology.”

James Bopp, ed., Human Life and Health Care Ethics, vol. 2 (Frederick, MD: University Publications of America, 1985)

“Zygote, fertilized egg cell that results from the union of a femalegamete (egg, or ovum) with a male gamete (sperm). In the embryonic development of humans and other animals, the zygote stage is brief and is followed by cleavage, when the single cell becomes subdivided into smaller cells.

The zygote represents the first stage in the development of a genetically unique organism. The zygote is endowed with genes from two parents, and thus it is diploid (carrying two sets of chromosomes). The joining of haploid gametes to produce a diploid zygote is a common feature in the sexual reproduction of all organisms except bacteria.

"Although life is a continuous process, fertilization (which, incidentally, is not a 'moment') is a critical landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new genetically distinct human organism is formed when the chromosomes of the male and female pronuclei blend in the oocyte." - Ronan O'Rahilly and Fabiola Müller, Human Embryology and Teratology, 3rd edition. New York: Wiley-Liss, 2001. p. 8.

"It is the penetration of the ovum by a spermatozoan and resultant mingling of the nuclear material each brings to the union that constitutes the culmination of the process of fertilization and marks the initiation of the life of a new individual." - Clark Edward Corliss, Patten's Human Embryology: Elements of Clinical Development. New York: McGraw Hill, 1976. p. 30.

You're welcome. Embrace science, do not fear it.

"It seems you are confused here, World. You are the one claiming life starts at conception. Nothing in your post supports that notion. You even mention a source that says 'Although life is a continuous process ...'.
Thanks for admitting that your argument was rather silly."

"You are the one claiming life starts at conception."

And I just proved it using peer-reviewed medical and biological sources, unlike the superstitious one that you are.

"You even mention a source that says 'Although life is a continuous process ...'."

Read on, Child, there is more where you conveniently put the ...:

"fertilization (which, incidentally, is not a 'moment') is a critical landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new genetically distinct human organism is formed when the chromosomes of the male and female pronuclei blend in the oocyte.""

Still waiting for your evidence that you were never a zygote, embryo, or fetus.

"No need. You claimed 'life starts at conception'. Your evidence does not show that. It shows life is a continuum - conception is merely a milestone in the formation of a new individual - a crucial one, but certainly not the only one. Your silly argument for not allowing abortion because 'life starts at conception' therefore ends here."

I gave you peer-reviewed science, and you reply with feeewwwings?!?

Still waiting for your proof that you were not a zygote, embryo, and fetus. This won't take long, will it? :-)