Pregnancy Begins at Conception - not Implantation. ACOG is wrong.

Thanks, Chuz-life, for a refreshingly civil take on this conflict of opinion. I am going to start by addressing my opponent's case, and then move onto constructing my own arguments. I would like to clarify what I meant when I said that ACOG'S position is not that fertilization cannot be considered the start of pregnancy, as it has caused a bit of confusion. ACOG is indeed suggesting that all pregnancies start at implantation (not including molar and ectopic pregnancies, but I will address this later). My opponent is correct in saying that is the position I am defending. However, ACOG is not suggesting that one could not define pregnancy as "containing a developing embryo, fetus, or unborn offspring within the body" and then technically consider someone who has swallowed a petri dish pregnant (a far fetched and disturbing example, but it gets the point across). ACOG is instead suggesting that by defining pregnancy in an acceptable way (that communicates ideas in a more accurate and culturally - perceptive fashion than alternative definitions), implantation is always the start of pregnancy. The definition of conception that I suggested as being acceptable merely says that it can be considered to be implantation, rather than fertilization. When ACOG says "fertilization, before conception (i.e, pregnancy/ implantation)", the need to clarify comes from this "or". Conception can refer to fertilization, implantation, or both. ACOG is referring to implantation, and that is valid. Pro has presented no proof as to why the definition I presented is faulty. According to the definition, conception can only occur if a pregnancy does. In the scenario my opponent presents, the fertilization could not be considered conception. ACOG does not claim that pregnancy starts after implantation. ACOG claims that pregnancy starts at implantation. I thought that had been established, so I'm confused as to why Pro suggests otherwise. Finally, I have to say that the amount of time a fertilized egg spends in the uterus before implantation is irrelevant. The difference between pregnancy and a lack of pregnancy is physical, not temporal. I accept and understand that a fertilized egg is present in the uterus before implantation occurs. I'm suggesting that a fertilized egg could hypothetically sit in a uterus for years before the woman of whom the uterus belongs should be considered pregnant. I will now move on to constructing my own case. Let's look at a variety of definitions. For pregnancy: The state of carrying a developing embryo or fetus within the female [1] containing a developing embryo, fetus, or unborn offspring within the body [2] The period from conception to birth. [3] the condition of a woman or female animal that is going to have a baby or babies. [4] For gestation: The process or period of developing inside the womb between conception and birth.[5] the time between conception and birth, during which the embryo or fetus is developing in the uterus[6] By looking at those without any analysis, we can see that it would be acceptable to say that implantation is the start of pregnancy. Conception can refer to implantation, and conception is the start of pregnancy. Right there, we can see that the claim that ACOG presents shouldn't be considered invalid. However, there is more to consider. The embryo only starts to develop once implanted [7]. This means that a key element of defining pregnancy only applies to implantation. Also, a little under two thirds of fertilized eggs never end up being implanted [8], so a vast majority of what we refer to when we say pregnancy only applies to fertilized eggs. If we assume Pro's position is true, then a pregnant woman will probably not give birth to a child, directly opposing a definition, as well as connotation. The connotative side of this is very important. If alternative interpretations of pregnancy are accepted, then pregnancy could be said to occur: If a live baby, fetus, embryo, or anyone under twelve years of age is placed inside any part of a woman. If a fertilized egg has been placed anywhere at all. Those scenarios are technically pregnancy according to some definitions, but the ideas we have of pregnancy apply best to ACOG's. Thanks for reading, I hope to present a more detailed and generally superior case next round. Sources: [1]bodyhttp://www.medicinenet.com... [2]http://i.word.com... [3]http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com...