The term fetus, as applied to human beings, refers to a conceived but unborn child that has developed beyond an embryonic stage.
In Politics
One of the sharpest divisions in United States politics is over whether human life begins at conception and if so, what this means.
Legally, in most jurisdictions, it is considered permissible to terminate the life of the fetus at any point in the pregnancy (see abortion) provided the unborn child's head has not emerged from the mother's body (see partial-birth abortion).
Usage
Evangelical Christians prefer the term unborn child to the term fetus when discussing elective abortion, since the former supports the viewpoint that (1) "Human life begins at conception" and (2) "Abortion is murder". They feel that calling the unborn child simply a "fetus" devalues human life.