While even those most supportive of a woman's right to choose understand that a fetus does acquire fundamental human rights at some point relatively early in the third trimester, opponents of autonomous reproductive rights hold the position that personhood begins at the moment of conception (Mappes & Zembaty, 2008).

This is the main source of legal controversy precisely because it reflects a religious belief defining human life as being created at the moment of fertilization (Mappes & Zembaty, 2008). While that is a perfectly acceptable belief within the framework of religious philosophy, it is a fundamental violation of the concept of separation of church and state to impose that belief on secular laws.

The First constitutional amendment prohibits both the establishment and the prohibition of religion by the government. Going back even further, religious freedom was one of the principle motivations of the original Settlers who left British rule, precisely...
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