Bruce (I was that Guest), without any disrespect you weren't FULLY human when you were on the borderline of life and death- you arguably would never have noticed had the medics decided you were too far gone. But your experience made it worthwhile to intervene to try to preserve you. The medics might not have tried so hard with a 107 year old- statistically that person would have little life left anyway, and you don't invest a lot when the payback is small.

I have a friend who is brain damaged following a stroke. Or rather, I do not have a friend- he may as well be dead for any good that his continued existence does to himself, his family, or his friends. He has no enjoyment of life and, as far as we can tell, is in constant pain. He used to be a clever, articulate, witty human being, but I don't think he's fully human now.

The point I was trying to make is that premature births have the potential to develop into full human beings, and with the medical help available these days, many of them will. But the choice to intervene to bring them to term out of the womb is a complex one- it will take into account the desires of the parents, the opinions of the medics as to the probable outcome, and the costs of the treatment (to the state in the UK, to the insurance or the parents in the US).

In this context, it's ironic that the religious conservatives who most vehemently oppose abortion are the same ones that deny treatment to children (and adults) after they are born.