[Katey Alpha Gam]

Originally posted by KSig RC
FOR THE 'PRO-LIFERS' (as it were):

How do you justify the comment, "Life begins as soon as the sperm hits the egg," for yourself personally?

How do you justify this comment, then, as far as applicable laws? ie medically and legally defining an exact moment when 'life begins' since conception can't be pinpointed.

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The reason for these questions is that I'm more interested in the legal basis for abortion than each person's individual feelings (more on that later).

The reasoning here is that, with a legal definition of 'death' there are certain vital signs that can be pointed to and utilized - sensory perception/motor control, heartbeat, electrical activity in the brain, but obviously this becomes more complex when making a law with regard to a fetus.

For me, the bottom line (from a scientific standpoint) is still that the baby's INDIVIDUAL life begins with birth - until then, it is undeniably interwoven with the life of the mother. End the mother's life, and the baby will die unless immediately birthed (thus beginning its individual life!).

To say that life begins at conception is an appeal to an anonymous authority - a logical fallacy, which makes the statement an opinion. I don't think, personally, that we can base such a law on an opinion of when life begins - as such, I feel that the law should reflect this, and allow the right to choose.

Whether or not I personally want to have an abortion doesn't factor into my decision to allow others to choose. To me, this doesn't boil down to 'saving the babies' - it's a matter of the legality of limiting a person's rights.

Well said!!! Also I think it is important to note that you really can't say if life begins when the sperm hits the egg b/c NOBODY has that figured out yet. I also want to note that Parasites grow the same way that a fetus does and do the same thing a fetus does such as feeding off the nutrients and life force of it's host. Should we not kill parasites either b/c their alive too??? Where do you draw the line on what is and is not ok to end the life of. Do you eat veal?? Do you kill bugs??? If there was a parasite in your body that you didn't want even if it was alive b/c it's breathing and living off of you and has a life force, would you say "but it's alive so I can't get rid of it"?????? If I got pregnant tomorrow, it would be an unwanted thing growing inside of me, feeding off of me. I'd consider that to be a good definition of a parasite and I'd treat it as such. If you got a tape worm, would you kill it?? B/c it's alive and it's feeding off of you so it must be ok to keep by your definition of a life in a body right????????