Because being “living” is not enough to merit the same significance as Life begins at 40 born in 1979 the year of the legend shirt, hoodie, sweater and v-neck t-shirt, and conversely birth is also not a useful metric either as human life in the womb is viable several weeks prior to birth. So why is being living, for example when the human egg is fertilized, not a good measure of being human? Because mold is living, the weeds I pull from the garden are living, dividing and growing cancer cells are living, the pesky damn fleas on my cat are living, and the germs on my hands are living. It isn’t enough for something to be living and thriving to be considered a fully functioning, viable or valued being.
