Hum. I guess it wasn't clear enough some posts above. There are some questions which keep showing up in this type of threads. I'll tell you how I see each.
-Is the question:
is it alive?. Nope. We
know it is. The question is:
is it human? -Is a foetus human? Any of its cells will tell us
it is. You can't make a scientific claim that says otherwise. How different is a newborn baby from what it was some days before? And a week before? etc.
-Is there a magical number of cells you need to be considered human? How many are those?
Once again, impossible to give a reasonable answer.
-Will a foetus grow to become a human?
Yes, if you let it.
-If it is barely human, does it have human rights?
Not too many. Maybe only the first. The Right to Life.
-Are sperm cells "potential life"?
No. Only when joined with an egg cell, does it add to 46 chromosomes, meaning it's human. A sperm or egg cell can't grow into a human.
-When is a human being conscious?
Hard to tell. So it should never be the base of any judgement.
-Are abortions dangerous?
Of course they are. And they can also have serious negative psycological effects on the mother. Everyone must know that.
-Are abortions and wars the solution to overpopulation?
No... Family planning and education is the best (although difficult) option.
-
The line has to be drawn somewhere.
What imaginary line is that?
-Is stepping on living grass a good thing to do?
As good as eating an apple and stepping on ants. Until they make the "Grass rights", "Fruit rights" and "Ant rights", they will have to cope with it.