The point at which religious ensoulment or PERSONHOOD is considered to begin.

The state or condition of being a human individual accorded moral and/or legal rights. Criteria to be used to determine this status are subject to debate, and range from the requirement of simply being a human organism to such requirements as that the individual be self-aware and capable of rational thought and moral agency.

The religion of the Jews characterized by belief in one God and in the mission of the Jews to teach the Fatherhood of God as revealed in the Hebrew Scriptures. (Webster, 3d ed)

The fundamental dispositions and traits of humans. (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed)

The state that distinguishes organisms from inorganic matter, manifested by growth, metabolism, reproduction, and adaptation. It includes the course of existence, the sum of experiences, the mode of existing, or the fact of being. Over the centuries inquiries into the nature of life have crossed the boundaries from philosophy to biology, forensic medicine, anthropology, etc., in creative as well as scientific literature. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed; Dr. James H. Cassedy, NLM History of Medicine Division)

The intrinsic moral worth ascribed to a living being. (Bioethics Thesaurus)

Clusters of topics that fall within the domain of BIOETHICS, the field of study concerned with value questions that arise in biomedicine and health care delivery.

Continuous sequential changes which occur in the physiological and psychological functions during the life-time of an individual.

A philosophically coherent set of propositions (for example, utilitarianism) which attempts to provide general norms for the guidance and evaluation of moral conduct. (from Beauchamp and Childress, Principles of Biomedical Ethics, 4th ed)

The interrelationship of medicine and religion.

Medical philosophy is a branch of philosophy that deals with the concepts, values, and nature of medicine, including its ethical implications, epistemological foundations, and societal impact, aimed at informing and improving medical practice, research, and education.

The normal length of time of an organism's life.

A generic concept reflecting concern with the modification and enhancement of life attributes, e.g., physical, political, moral and social environment; the overall condition of a human life.

Standards of conduct that distinguish right from wrong.

The principles of professional conduct concerning the rights and duties of the physician, relations with patients and fellow practitioners, as well as actions of the physician in patient care and interpersonal relations with patient families.

Selective abortion of one or more embryos or fetuses in a multiple gestation pregnancy. The usual goal is to improve the outcome for the remaining embryos or fetuses.

Experimentation on, or using the organs or tissues from, a human or other mammalian conceptus during the prenatal stage of development that is characterized by rapid morphological changes and the differentiation of basic structures. In humans, this includes the period from the time of fertilization to the end of the eighth week after fertilization.

The formation of one or more genetically identical organisms derived by vegetative reproduction from a single cell. The source nuclear material can be embryo-derived, fetus-derived, or taken from an adult somatic cell.

The process of cumulative change over successive generations through which organisms acquire their distinguishing morphological and physiological characteristics.

The gradual irreversible changes in structure and function of an organism that occur as a result of the passage of time.

The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.

Those occurrences, including social, psychological, and environmental, which require an adjustment or effect a change in an individual's pattern of living.