Life without rights?

I've been chatting with Mathew over at Philosophusion about the value of human life and when we can be said to have any rights. Mathew and I are coming at the problem from very different angles but the discussion is civil. Anyone else care to share their ideas? Here or there, I'm watching the thread as it develops. I also want to point out a beautiful post that my wife found on the net the other day. It casts a nice light on motherhood and sacrifice.