When Does "Personhood" Begin? (open discussion, all welcome)

This is an opportunity to discuss controversial topics among people with a wide range of views. The goal for everyone is to seek to understand the other side, and hopefully, after thorough analysis, refine your views on topics such as abortion. Ask good faith questions to those you disagree with and try to give good faith answers to questions directed at you. All views welcome and respect for others is a must (or at least try haha).

So what is "Personhood" and when does it begin? Of all the conversations I hear about abortion, the most common talking point I hear from pro-choice people is this idea of personhood, with statements like "well it's not even a person yet", or "it doesn't even have personhood". What entails Personhood and how is it measured?

Is it consciousness?
Capacity to feel pain?
Sense of awareness?
Viability (what is that even)?
Ability to experience?

There could be many other factors or a combination, but how do we even know when or whether a human fetus develops these capacities? How can they be measured or verified? If it is unknown, should we assume "Not Personhood" until we have the ability to detect it?

How subjective is the idea of "Personhood"? Is it up to us to decide individually, or is there a hard objective definition that must be universally recognized? Can I deem anyone I want around me to not have Personhood therefore not worthy of living? If there is an objective definition, then shouldn't Pro-Choicers be arguing with themselves on which definition of Personhood is the correct one?

For me, I do not believe in personhood as a real thing that is to be distinguished from what makes all human beings valuable. My default position is all humans are worth protecting to the best of our ability. The moment we start identifying a group of humans that are no longer worth protecting, I demand a well thought-out explanation as to why they are not worth protecting. If it is a lack of personhood, I would like to know what this means.

And for the record, Meetup's spellcheck does not believe in personhood either, because every instance of me typing it has a red underline! :P

What are your thoughts? Come join us for a fun (or enraging) discussion! Popcorn and/or Tylenol highly recommended.

Rule Of Etiquette: The goal is to have a productive free-flowing discussion, while also giving everyone a fair chance to participate accordingly. If you have any trouble getting a word in, please use the "Raise Hand" feature. We have a loosely enforced 3 minute timer but please be mindful of your time and the number of people waiting, and know that you can always put yourself back in the rotation for additional talking points. It is also encouraged to engage with others on your turn so that we can have more of a free-slowing dialog, rather than each of us just taking turns on our soap boxes.

Hope you can join us!