when sperm meets an egg, if nothing else is done, the now fertilized egg will usually implant itself into the walls of a uterous, start dividing into more and more cells, and eventually develop into a living person. for me, that this is enough for it to be called living, the same way a child is considered living, even though it is still developing.
that being said, even if you will think that a fertilized egg is not living, at least agree that it is the beginning of life. i personally believe that not letting a fetus develop into a fully living person is tantamount to murder.
If the unborn baby has no consciousness, then I don't think it's murder. What is going through the mind of a 5 month year old fetus? Does he know he exists and therefore does not wish to be killed?
according to your logic, it seems that it would be ok to kill someone who temporally loses consciousness. at that time, he doesn't know that he exists and might wish to die. you might answer me that this case is not comparable to a fetus, since this person might regain consciousness. well, a fetus will almost certainly gain consciousness when he is born.
So currently, until what stage in the pregnancy is abortion legal? Is there a large difference between countries, where abortion is allowed, until what time it could be done?
i have heard that in some countries it is illigal. i am not sure which countries those are. in america, thanks to the roe v wade supreme court decision (in my opinion, a terrible decision, but a discussion of that is for another thread), abortion is legal, but the states can place certain restrictions on its use. these restrictions are weakest during the first trimester, and are strongest during the last trimester. actual laws vary by state.
So according to my believes, you first need to establish at what point during pregnancy it is still acceptable to abort. The question posed here is: when is it life and when is it innocent.
Is it wrong to tie tubes to prevent pregnancy? Think of all the lives that are being taken that way! Just an example..
I think a life definitely is being taken when the fetus has the ability to live independantly of the mother but is killed. Before that there is a grey area. So now I wonder, where in that grey area is the line current drawn and why.
to tie tubes is not the same as to abort a fetus. without conception, eggs never develop into humans. by stoping conception, you are not murdering. if that is murder, then any woman that chooses not to have children is guilty of murder.
there is no line drawn there simply because the age at which an underdeveloped fetus can live outside the mother gets lower every day. 100 years ago, almost every underdeveloped fetus didnt survive. today, doctors are able to keep alive even 6 month old fetuses with the help of technology such as incubaters. in the future, they will probably be able to keep alive even younger fetuses.
the act itself i don't believe is wrong, but the reason for the abortion needs to be individually screened...is a young woman able to support a child pregnant due to carelessness and seeking abortion because it was irresponsible sex? is it a mother who has other children, becomes pregnant, and finds out from a doctor her child will be severely retarded or ill and the costs and risks may not be worth it? was the woman raped, is 16 years old and has a promising life ahead of her? yes, you can argue killing is killing, regardless of the term of pregnancy, however i believe the current laws mandated in the US are adequate and fair...my big problem with abortion (at least where i live) is many women will be careless because of the safety net easily accessed abortion provides...this is where society, health clinics, even schools-yes our public schools need to offer birth control to men and women to prevent unwanted pregnancy...
it is not wise to say that just because a person will be disabled, his life should end in the womb. many retarded and otherwise disabled people are living fulfilling lives, in spite of their disability. what right does another person have to make decisions about someone elses life before that person enteres this world?
and if the baby can't be supported, or can't be raised by the parents for whatever reason, the baby should be given up to an orphanage. many people are willing to adopt children, and there is a good chance that this child might get adopted, and live a normal life. and even if he doesn't get adopted, living through a rough childhood, in my opinion, is better than not living at all.
even in cases of rape and incest, i don't believe the child should be aborted. even though what happened to this woman was terrible and wrong, the bottom line is that there is a child in her woumb that didnt do anything wrong to her, and shouldn't be penalized by being aborted because of someone elses actions. I am sorry if this sounds radical and extreme to some people, and i don't think that it is fair that this woman will now go through nine difficult months because of what some evil pervert did to her. but the situation shouldn't be made more fair if that means denying an innocent fetus the right to live.
the one time that i believe that abortion is required is when the pregnancy endangers the life of the mother. in that case, murdering the fetus is the same as murdering someone who is about to kill you, and is an act of self defense.
you won't stop sex from happening, but if birth control is available and easy to get, you can stop unwanted pregnancies...
abstinence is the best type of birth control. it has a 100% sucess rate, unlike other forms of birth control. it is available to everyone for free, and requires nothing more than some willpower.
