“Fertilization” is a continuum, not a moment in time. I know everyone thinks of that magic moment when the one sperm breaks through the outer membrane, from the video we all watched in 7th grade. But that “moment” could be anytime during a span of days, and there are a hundred “moments” before and after that determine whether the egg will be viable and attach to the uterine wall. And then there are a thousand more moments that determine if the uterus is hospitable and the mother capable of supporting a pregnancy to term. And then there are a million more moments between when the pregnancy begins and the baby is born and separated from the mother. Until that point, objectively, it is not yet an independent person.

It’s not just shifting goalposts. Fertilization is a line in the sand under water. Theoretically, you could say it exists, but you’re going to have to redraw the line every time you try to find it, and it’s gone pretty much as soon as you look away.

Anyone who chooses to die on that hill is a religious fruitcake, devoid of value as a thinking human.