Abortion

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Is Abortion Wrong?

Is doing abortion (for reasons other than saving the mother's life and premature death of the child) wrong?

< It depends whether a fetus is a person.

Once a fetus is considered a person, killing a person without due cause is clearly wrong.

When does a fetus become a person?

Is it when the fetus feels pain, when it can think, when it is born, or when at conception (when the sperm and egg meet)?

< VERY STRONG At Conception since it establishes everything

What separates a fertilized egg from all other body organisms marks the difference of why a sperm or unfertilized egg is not considered a person.

Same goes for stem cells, skin cells. We will never consider sperm, unfertilized egg, stem cell, skin cell, brain cell, etc to be considered a person. But why is it that a fertilized egg should be treated differently is because of numerous reasons:

The differences:

1) Unique DNA is created at conception. At conception is when the a whole new DNA is created, separate from the parents DNA. This DNA determines most things about the person’s characteristics: looks, voice, eye color, skin color, brain structure, height, etc.

This is the same DNA that will last till death of the person.

2) Inevitable creation of a human being. A sperm and egg requires the intervention of man and female to have the sperm and egg meet up till it starts to build a human being.
But the fertilized egg requires none. It will over time become a fully developed human being on its own. It has its own intention of becoming human.

3) The female body recognizes that an entirely new person is being created with the fertilized egg.

a. The blood cells of the new being are different from the host being, yet there is no conflict in the immune system.

b. The host body is creating new duplicate systems for the new being. A new heart, a new brain, a new skeleton, everything. The new duplicate systems are understood to be apart from the host body

c. In addition, the duplicate systems won’t tangle with the host systems.

d. The host body has a unique umbilical cord that is the bridge from the host body to the new body. It is this bridge that the fetus gets its oxygen and nutrients, and the body knows this.

>> WEAK At birth, when the baby exits the womb

This is the time the baby can live independent from the mother.

A fetus can't survive by itself, so it can't be a person.

< VERY STRONG Saying that something can’t live by itself doesn’t give good reason why it’s not human.

< STRONG Poor people in Africa can’t live by themselves… are they human?

>> They have to have the same descent conditions.

< STRONG People in a coma can’t survive by themselves. Are they still humans?

< Civilized people living in a jungle can’t survive by themselves.

< OK Even babies can't even cover itself with clothes, can't feed itself, or even think right. And we don't consider killing babies ethical, do we?

>> OK They can be fed by others.

>> WEAK At birth, since it has all the qualities of a human being.

1. Consciousness (of objects and events external and/or internal to the being, and in particular the capacity to feel pain),

2. Reasoning (the developed capacity to solve new and relatively complex problems,

3. Self-motivated activity (activity which is relatively independent of either genetic or direct external control),

4. The capacity to communicate, by whatever means, messages of an indefinite variety of types, that is, not just with an indefinite number of possible contents, but on indefinitely many possible topics, and

5. The presence of self-concepts, and self-awareness, either individual or racial, or both.

From the following deductions above, one can infer that the zygote, embryo, nor fetus, are persons/human because they have none of the attributes stated.”

< STRONG Then you’re stating that a baby is also not a person.

Babies and fetus are so similar perhaps even the same, with birth marking the only difference.

If you claim a fetus doesn’t have human rights, then you’re on the edge of claiming babies not having human rights.

< OK Babies have those capabilities.

Both evolving beings and babies have 1, 3, 4, and maybe 5.
1) Both are conscious, they both can feel pain.
3) Both can kick and move around on their own.
4) Both can hear sounds, even the evolving-being can kick in certain ways to demonstrate a feeling, such as happiness (which depends if the mother is happy).
5) Both can think. Evolving beings have a brain wave in 3 weeks. What could go on inside the mind at 3 weeks?

< STRONG At conception, the Bible mentioned about David being formed at the womb.

David wouldn't have been worthy if a person is only considered after birth.

Should abortion be considered illegal except if the mother is in danger?

< Yes, since it is killing a human being.

>> But a fetus is not a human being!

< Yes it is, because of the conception argument.

< Yes, statistics reveal that abortion is mostly for non-rape/danger reasons. (Statistical)

Since 1973 over 30 million human lives have been legally killed in the United States before they were born.

XXX About 2% of Abortions are done for rape reasons.