When does "human life" begin? (legal, poll, abortion)
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I'm not aware of any mass-media controversies over abortion right now. Everyone appears to be yelling about homosexuality and guns. So maybe this poll will get a few legit answers.
I've long considered the anti/pro abortion debate to not be a debate over a woman's right to choose, but rather it's a debate as to when "human life" begins. I don't think any woman would choose to kill her 6-month-old son, because at that point it's most definitely a human baby, a human life. There are cases where a mother has killed a just-born baby, but I think most people will agree those mothers are mentally deficient and guilty of murder.
So, assuming no mentally whole person would kill a human baby, obviously anyone who gets an abortion doesn't consider a fetus to be a human baby. But when does life begin? The extremes are: Option 1: Pre-conception (the Catholic church does not allow ANY form of birth control) and Option 13: After birth, when the baby has drawn a breath of air (the official "legal" beginning of life).
So what do YOU think? I'll ask that this thread not degenerate into a screaming match, but that's probably too much to ask.
The time frames above are, of course, variable, as all babies develop at slightly different rates. The week numbers are listed as time since conception / gestational time. The official "start" of a 40-week gestational pregnancy is roughly 2 weeks before conception when the uterus is preparing itself.
Last edited by An Einnseanair; 08-08-2012 at 09:57 AM..
Around day 4 because this is when cellular differentiation takes place, which completes the biological definition of "life" with respect to the embryo.
you missed one... When there are blood cells. Since you didnt have that one listed, I went with when heart starts beating. The life is in the blood.... it is the ancient understanding of life.
Around day 4 because this is when cellular differentiation takes place, which completes the biological definition of "life" with respect to the embryo.
Oops, meant to mention that based on your answer, you consider an abortion before the time you picked to be acceptable, and an abortion after the time you picked is murder.
Picking Option 2 means you think contraception is OK.
Picking Options 2 or 3 mean you think that the IUD method of birth control (prevents implantation) is murder, and that the "extra" zygotes developed during in vitro fertilization are human lives that must be either implanted or kept alive indefinitely.
Picking the last option means you think it's acceptable to abort a fetus even if it would survive outside the womb. Now I'm thinking I should have added an option where "Fetus is viable without medical assistance", which would be about week 33/35 or so.
Last edited by An Einnseanair; 08-08-2012 at 10:23 AM..
The poll here actually points out something that is important to realize but is rarely (for reasons of sectarian dogma) actually considered. Over the nine month period of gestation, something that is obviously not a human being (i.e. a fertilized ovum) gradually becomes something that obviously is a human being (i.e. a full term fetus). But since the transition takes place gradually along a continuum, any attempt to draw a bright line between that which is a human and that which is not is completely arbitrary.
The development of the fetus is a continuous process, so unfortunately for people looking for simple answers there is no point in time from which on there is life, as if flipping a switch. The fetus is dependent on the mother at least until birth, so the completion of any particular organ such as the heart is not really a milestone, the fetus could still not survive on its own.
It is not just human life, the same probably goes for all other animals as well. But I suppose we focus on human life because we tell ourselves that unlike animals humans have souls So people might as well ask at which point during pregnancy the soul starts to exist. According to some religious people it's there from the very start because it is not biological/chemical/physical. This raises interesting questions as obviously nothing dead can serve as a carrier for a soul.
The poll here actually points out something that is important to realize but is rarely (for reasons of sectarian dogma) actually considered. Over the nine month period of gestation, something that is obviously not a human being (i.e. a fertilized ovum) gradually becomes something that obviously is a human being (i.e. a full term fetus). But since the transition takes place gradually along a continuum, any attempt to draw a bright line between that which is a human and that which is not is completely arbitrary.
This is exactly my point. Except, for the religious conservatives, even the fertilized ovum is obviously a human being. Which is why I added an option for before fertilization.
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So people might as well ask at which point during pregnancy the soul starts to exist. According to some religious people it's there from the very start because it is not biological/chemical/physical. This raises interesting questions as obviously nothing dead can serve as a carrier for a soul.
