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Or Tay-Sachs? Kids with that almost never make it to their 5th birthday.

Identical twins would beg to differ ...

Hmm ... defining "what is a human?" is something Ancient Greek philosophers struggled with. Evidence is mounting that a lot of things once thought to be unique human traits actually aren't. A single cell with human DNA is not necessarily a human, so defining "human" by DNA alone is inadaquate...

I was getting the vibe that you thought I was on the "abortions on demand up until the last moment" side of the spectrum. I wanted to nip that in the bud.

You and I are both anti-abortion with "some exceptions are acceptable". We just differ on where the line should be drawn. Heck, I can think of one situation where you'd be ok with allowing one where I would not.

Fair enough, however ... The smallest mammal - an Etruscan Shrew - has a very complex brain. Those voracious predators literally weigh less than a penny when fully grown. Fruit flies, which aren't vertebrates, show signs of consciousness and an ability to learn from experience.

Electral activity in the brain isn't really a good qualifier because practically all animals except for sea sponges have some sort of nervous system.

"A primate with no tail, legs longer than arms, and without an opposable big toe." "An obligate bipedal mammal without scales or a tail." also works. The qualifiers are necessary with the second one because Ground Pangolins are also obligate bipeds. As are birds when they're not flying, but...

I lump rape and incest into the mother's health category because of mental trauma buttons. Health instead of just life to cover cases where the mother gets something that won't kill her if left untreated while she's pregnant but treating it now will kill or harm the kid. The other two are for...

That's what makes it makes it so tough to draw a line the overwhelming majority is comfortable with. Genetic defects, developmental defects, and mother's health (both mental and physical) are fairly non-controversial and generally considered acceptable reasons by all but the most extreme...

Acually, we do. The DNA that's not shared is what really matters and sets us apart. Take bonobos and chimpanzees, for example. About 99% of what Humans have, they also have ... but it's not the same 99% because there is some DNA only 2 of the 3 species have and some DNA only 1 species has. The...