Embryos as Persons
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A very large number of zygotes or fertilized eggs (perhaps over 40%) never implant in the uterus. Instead they "spontaneously abort" soon after conception. Many of these are abnormal in various ways. Most of them are, on your view, persons. How do account for the fact that no one speaks of these early spontaneous abortions as a huge number of people dying?

Robert Wennberg has raised this question: Suppose we had a very cheap, harmless medicine that would prevent all spontaneous abortions. It seems that we would be obliged to use it to save these zygotes in spite of the staggering problems they might have after birth? Do you agree? We might also ask what we should do if the drug were very expensive? We would still be saving human lives. Should we divert enormous resources to the job?

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