Atheists, the death penalty and abortion...

[catfish]

You are going to talk about brain activity to catfish?! I don't know if he will relate.

Knowing you, you probrably think a fart equates to brain activity. You probrably think you're smarter than everyone too.

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Yes, it a question about what you and I both would do. Would I be out of line to infer from your words above that you're pro-life, yet pro-choice? I.E. You respect all (any) life but do not wish to oppress others?

Essentially, yes. I like life, and in my ideal world abortions wouldn't be needed at all because contraception would be fool proof, people would be educated enough to use them and rape would never happen. Unfortunately we don't live in that world, and after weighing up the morality of the situation I've come to the conclusion that it's immoral to intrude on the- bodily, especially- autonomy of people in favor of a fetus.

Now this is something I agree with.
So can I also assume that you find taking human life (without just cause) immoral also?

I would argue that "alive" is either a yes or a no concept. I think you're refering to having "enough" attributes to be considered a "person" here? I would say causing the life of any individual lifeform to cease would be "killing" it. I.E. Cutting a branch off of a tree is not "killing" it but destroying enough to cease it's biological activity is.

Yes. Life is a binary concept, something is either alive or not, but we find some forms of taking that life to be acceptable. Again, nobody minds too much if you kill a bug, despite that being a life you're taking.

Actually, some forms that I find acceptable like killing a fly that hovers around your food I would find unacceptable to do in the outdoors when personal "space" has not been violated. I.E. people who rip the wings off or kill just because they can.

Again, I'm going to say that "life" is a yes/no proposition. Can we at least agree that it's an individual lifeform and now add to that description that it's fully alive?
Basically, at which point do you consider it sufficiently developed to consider it an "actually living person"? Heartbeat, cerebral cortext, brain activity, 8.5 months?

If I had to put a specific time on it, I'd say around the point of brain activity or consciousness. I don't value the zygote inherently, but once it's progressed to the point where it's viable outside of the womb and active mentally, then I'd say it has some stake in its own existence.

It is a difficult prospect, I will admit.

For me, if I had to draw a line that wasn't at conception, it would be when the zygote attaches to the uterus.
I look at this way... It's kind of like someone snatching you and dropping you off naked on some small, private island. They give you all the food and air you need. It's perfect weather. Clean and sanitary and comfortable as Hades. Then they get all fucking mad at you for eating their food and whack ya.

Life isn't fair, huh?