title: The moral status of the human embryo.
abstract: I first delineate the concept of personhood--that cluster of capacities that distinguish us from non-human animals--and then argue that mere potentiality for personhood does not by itself confer upon the embryo a serious right to life. What is required, in addition, is the presence of brain life, which almost certainly does not develop until the second trimester.
authors.affiliation: Green College, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lockwood
mesh_terms: D000028:Abortion, Induced; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D009014:Morals; D011247:Pregnancy; D026712:Value of Life