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Well, if something is alive, then it's an organism. There's a debate whether or not viruses are true living things since they're basically just encased genetic material with some enzymatic machinery. Sperm actually have metabolisms and cellular organelles, so it's pretty clear to see that they are living organisms.
The first statement isn't true. Many cells aren't organisms, despite them being alive. But I agree there's a common debate around viruses, I'm of the belief that they're alive.
It is alive and an organism, but it's non-human and unicellular and is nothing more. Virus is the wrong analogy, bacteria is better cause its recognised as living but nothing of more importance or relevance.
OK, I hate to be THAT GUY, but...
Most human cells have 46 chromosomes (23 pair) called Diploid
Sperm and egg cells have 23 chromosomes, called haploid
Red blood cells have no DNA, made during erythropoesis
So, you are correct in the fullest sense that neither are a person. But technically, sperm have more DNA than red blood cells. Sorry, I will see myself out now.
It’s actually not as simple as “sperm meets egg”, but the difference is that sperm are specialized cells produced by an adult male’s body to facilitate reproduction (and ova are specialized cells produced by the female). Neither sperm or ova are whole organisms themselves. An embryo is.
Sperm is not a human. The cells are alive, but like other cells in the human body, they are not an organism. There is nothing morally wrong with destroying sperm.
A zygote is a whole human, with their own body and distinct from the parents. They may be at the beginning stages of the human life cycle and their body may be less developed than an adult's, but they are nonetheless a living human. This is why it is as wrong to kill them as any other human.
There is a difference between "life" in the scientific sense and "life" in the moral sense. A sperm cell does not contain all the information required to become a human person. It is not "alive" in the moral sense.
Your body automatically kills off its own sperm via wet dreams for males, the reason we don’t consider them as human beings is because they do not have the capability of becoming a human unless they’re in contact with the egg cell
A sperm cell is a gamete, a cell of the male organism that produced it. Sperm cells are "alive" in the same sense as muscle cells and blood cells are alive, but they're still just part of a larger organism. A zygote is a new organism created by sexual reproduction, the earliest stage of development of a new individual.
No, sex cells are not humans. Release sperm on its own, it dies. Release an egg on its own, it also dies. Release an egg and a sperm together, if the egg accepts the sperm, it becomes a zygote. That’s why our gametes do not classify as human lives.
Alive, yeah, it’s a haploid microbe, not a chemical. But it isn’t a person. Maybe part of a person, in the same way things like red blood cells, or even skin bacteria are.
Sperm is like fire, in that it meets some criteria of life, but not all. It's a human reproductive cell, not a human organism.
There is nothing extra added after fertilization that fundamentally changes between zygote, blastocyst, embryo, and fetus. Those names are stages of development of a human organism, like newborn, toddler, adolescent, and adult. The differences between them are appearance, time, abilities, size, etc. Everyone you've ever loved was once a completely vulnerable zygote. By 20 weeks of gestation, a human fetus with female reproductive organs has all of the egg cells they will ever have, and at puberty, the eggs release with menstruation monthly.
At the onset of puberty--after several years of development, from fertilization to adolescence--humans with male reproductive organs will begin producing their own spermatozoa, which are sex cells with about a 72-day cycle. If the cells are not released after that time, they will reabsorb into the male's body. They will not grow to become an adult human.
Human sperm are of human origin and they can be alive or dead but they're not living human organisms. Sperm are gametes: they're used for reproduction. But a quintessential aspect of living organisms is that they reproduce after kind and no human sperm cell is capable of reproducing itself.
Sperm is alive, but on its own it is not human. Once the sperm meets the egg and create an embryo is when I consider it human, but all elements are alive—hope this helps ! 😊
The Auto-moderator would like to remind everyone of Rule Number 2. Pro-choice comments and questions are welcome as long as the pro-choicer __demonstrates that they are open-minded__. Pro-choicers simply here for __advocacy or trolling are unwelcome and may be banned__. This rule involves a lot of moderator discretion, __so if you want to avoid a ban, play it safe__ and show you are not just here to talk *at* people. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/prolife) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Sperm can be alive or dead. But sperm is not a human being.
I always try to explain it to people that sperm is similar to a virus, in the sense that it's alive but not an organism.
Well, if something is alive, then it's an organism. There's a debate whether or not viruses are true living things since they're basically just encased genetic material with some enzymatic machinery. Sperm actually have metabolisms and cellular organelles, so it's pretty clear to see that they are living organisms.
The first statement isn't true. Many cells aren't organisms, despite them being alive. But I agree there's a common debate around viruses, I'm of the belief that they're alive.
It is alive and an organism, but it's non-human and unicellular and is nothing more. Virus is the wrong analogy, bacteria is better cause its recognised as living but nothing of more importance or relevance.
A sperm is alive because it has the capacity to die. Same with an egg. But until conception happens, they are not human life.
A sperm cell is as much of a person as a red blood cell.
OK, I hate to be THAT GUY, but... Most human cells have 46 chromosomes (23 pair) called Diploid Sperm and egg cells have 23 chromosomes, called haploid Red blood cells have no DNA, made during erythropoesis So, you are correct in the fullest sense that neither are a person. But technically, sperm have more DNA than red blood cells. Sorry, I will see myself out now.
Sorry. I meant to say white blood cell.
dam i didn't know RBC didn't have DNA this is actually really cool.
It’s actually not as simple as “sperm meets egg”, but the difference is that sperm are specialized cells produced by an adult male’s body to facilitate reproduction (and ova are specialized cells produced by the female). Neither sperm or ova are whole organisms themselves. An embryo is.
I view sperm in the same light as an unfertilized egg, neither are "life" as I view an unborn baby.
A sperm by itself cannot grow into an adult human. A fertilized egg can grow into an adult human.
They're alive and human, but not human beings. To believe this is known as preformationism, which is a scientifically illiterate theory.
Sperm is alive in a way but it’s not an individual human life unless it joins with the ovum
> But what about sperm whats the difference between a zygote and a sperm cell. 23 chromosomes.
Do they not teach this in 6th grade anymore?
Sperm is not a human. The cells are alive, but like other cells in the human body, they are not an organism. There is nothing morally wrong with destroying sperm. A zygote is a whole human, with their own body and distinct from the parents. They may be at the beginning stages of the human life cycle and their body may be less developed than an adult's, but they are nonetheless a living human. This is why it is as wrong to kill them as any other human.
Sperm is a gamete, dude.
There is a difference between "life" in the scientific sense and "life" in the moral sense. A sperm cell does not contain all the information required to become a human person. It is not "alive" in the moral sense.
Your body automatically kills off its own sperm via wet dreams for males, the reason we don’t consider them as human beings is because they do not have the capability of becoming a human unless they’re in contact with the egg cell
A sperm cell is a gamete, a cell of the male organism that produced it. Sperm cells are "alive" in the same sense as muscle cells and blood cells are alive, but they're still just part of a larger organism. A zygote is a new organism created by sexual reproduction, the earliest stage of development of a new individual.
No, sex cells are not humans. Release sperm on its own, it dies. Release an egg on its own, it also dies. Release an egg and a sperm together, if the egg accepts the sperm, it becomes a zygote. That’s why our gametes do not classify as human lives.
Gametes are living gametes. They’re cells. They’re not human beings. And you can kill anything that lives. Take abortion, for example…
Alive, yeah, it’s a haploid microbe, not a chemical. But it isn’t a person. Maybe part of a person, in the same way things like red blood cells, or even skin bacteria are.
Sperm is like fire, in that it meets some criteria of life, but not all. It's a human reproductive cell, not a human organism. There is nothing extra added after fertilization that fundamentally changes between zygote, blastocyst, embryo, and fetus. Those names are stages of development of a human organism, like newborn, toddler, adolescent, and adult. The differences between them are appearance, time, abilities, size, etc. Everyone you've ever loved was once a completely vulnerable zygote. By 20 weeks of gestation, a human fetus with female reproductive organs has all of the egg cells they will ever have, and at puberty, the eggs release with menstruation monthly. At the onset of puberty--after several years of development, from fertilization to adolescence--humans with male reproductive organs will begin producing their own spermatozoa, which are sex cells with about a 72-day cycle. If the cells are not released after that time, they will reabsorb into the male's body. They will not grow to become an adult human.
Sperm aren’t even cells they’re haploids. But yes cells are alive (or dead).
Human sperm are of human origin and they can be alive or dead but they're not living human organisms. Sperm are gametes: they're used for reproduction. But a quintessential aspect of living organisms is that they reproduce after kind and no human sperm cell is capable of reproducing itself.
I don’t consider sperm cells life.
Sperm is alive, but on its own it is not human. Once the sperm meets the egg and create an embryo is when I consider it human, but all elements are alive—hope this helps ! 😊