interpretations of the term “conception.” One school of thought understands “conception” as the moment of union, or fertilization of the egg by the spermatozoid. Fertilization results in the creation of a new cell: the zygote. Certain scientific evidence considers the zygote as a human organism that contains the necessary instructions for the development of the embryo. 266 Another school of thought understands “conception” as the moment when the fertilized egg is implanted in the uterus. 267 The implantation of the fertilized egg in the mother’s uterus allows the new cell, the zygote, to connect with the mother’s circulatory system, providing it with access to all the hormones and other elements necessary for the embryo’s development. 268 181. For his part, expert witness Zegers-Hochschild indicated that when the American Convention was signed in 1969, the Real Academia de la Lengua Española defined “conception” as “the action and effect of conceiving,” 269 “to conceive as “for the female to become pregnant,” and “to fertilize” 270 as “to unite the male and female reproductive elements, to create a new being.” 271 The Court observes that the current dictionary of the Real Academia de la Lengua Española maintains almost completely the definitions of these words. 272 Furthermore, the expert witness indicated that: 266 Cf. Inter alia, the following scientific articles provided by the State: Tanya Lobo Prada, Inicio de la vida (file of annexes to the answering brief, volume I, folios 6653 to 6656); Maureen L. Condic, Preimplantation Stages of Human Development: The Biological and Moral Status of Early Embryos, in: Is this cell a Human Being?, Springer-Verlag Berlin, 2011 (file of annexes to the answering brief, volume I, folios 6576 to 6594); Maureen L. Condic, When Does Human Life Begin? A Scientific Perspective, in: The Westchester Institute for Ethics and the Human Person, Vol. 1, No.1, 2008 (file of annexes to the answering brief, volume I, folios 6621 to 6648); Jerome Lejeune, El Origen de la Vida Humana, in: Diario ABC, Madrid, 1983 (file of annexes to the answering brief, volume I, folio 6652), and Natalia Lopez Moratalla and María J. Iraburu Elizalde, Los primeros quince días de una vida humana, Ediciones Universidad de Navarra, 2004, (file of annexes to the answering brief, volume VI, folios 9415 to 9503). 267 Written summary of the expert opinion provided by Fernando Zegers-Hochschild at the public hearing before the Court (merits report, volume VI, folio 2846). 268 Cf. Inter alia, the following scientific articles provided by the State: Tanya Lobo Prada, Inicio de la vida (file of annexes to the answering brief, volume I, folios 6653 to 6656); Maureen L. Condic, Preimplantation Stages of Human Development: The Biological and Moral Status of Early Embryos, in: Is this cell a Human Being?, Springer-Verlag Berlin, 2011 (file of annexes to the answering brief, volume I, folios 6576 to 6594); Maureen L. Condic, When Does Human Life Begin? A Scientific Perspective, in: The Westchester Institute for Ethics and the Human Person, Vol. 1, No.1, 2008 (file of annexes to the answering brief, volume I, folios 6621 to 6648); Jerome Lejeune, El Origen de la Vida Humana, in: Diario ABC, Madrid, 1983 (file of annexes to the answering brief, volume I, folio 6652), and Natalia Lopez Moratalla and María J. Iraburu Elizalde, Los primeros quince días de una vida humana, Ediciones Universidad de Navarra, 2004, (file of annexes to the answering brief, volume VI, folios 9415 to 9503). 269 Cf. Diccionario de la Real Academia de la Lengua Española, 1956 edition. Available http://ntlle.rae.es/ntlle/SrvltGUIMenuNtlle?cmd=Lema&sec=1.0.0.0.0. (Last visited November 28, 2012). at: 270 Cf. Diccionario de la Real Academia de la Lengua Española, 1956 edition. Available http://ntlle.rae.es/ntlle/SrvltGUIMenuNtlle?cmd=Lema&sec=1.1.0.0.0. (Last visited November 28, 2012). at: 271 Cf. Diccionario de la Real Academia de la Lengua Española, 1956 edition. Available at: http://ntlle.rae.es/ntlle/SrvltGUIMenuNtlle?cmd=Lema&sec=1.2.0.0.0. (Last visited November 28, 2012). Similarly, expert witness Bergallo stated that the Diccionario de la Real Academia, "in its 19th edition, which was in force at the time the Convention was drafted, defined ‘conception’ including the fact of the fertilization and the protection of the implanted embryo.” Opinion of expert witness Paola Bergallo before the Court during the public hearing held in this case. 272 In this regard, the current edition of the Diccionario de la Real Academia de la Lengua Española defines “conception” as “action and effect of to conceive.” The expression” is defined in its third acceptance as “said of a female: “to become pregnant”; and the expression “to fertilize” is defined as “to unite the male and female reproductive cell in order to create a new being.” Available at: http://lema.rae.es/drae/?val=concepci%C3%B3n; http://lema.rae.es/drae/?val=concebir, and http://lema.rae.es/drae/?val=fecundar (Last visited November 28, 2012).