Lyla, it is demeaning and dehumanizing to refer to the unborn child as a “parasite”. Dehumanization is the very basis of oppression throughout the world. Every human life has intrinsic value.
Also, there must be some level of self-responsibility. When a woman has consensual sex, she is also accepting all the potential consequences of those actions, which includes pregnancy. Men also need to be held to a level of responsibility. Should child support during pregnancy be considered? What are your thoughts?
Kim, in situations like yours where your life was at risk it has correctly been standard medical and moral practice to prioritize the life of the mother. Pro-life laws always recognize the need to protect the life of the mother. However, with all due respect to your situation, the vast majority of abortions are not based on medical need.
Your differentiation between an “existing life” and a “could be life” is a differentiation that is not fact based. It is merely semantics.
The beginning human being is small, but it exists. You stated that “biologically there is a body and a parasite.” However, the definition of a parasite is “an organism that lives in or on an organism of another species (its host)”.
From the moment of conception, there are two genetic human beings – both humans – not different species. We need not pit them against each other. We must protect and respect them both.
William, the unborn child is not “sucking the life” out of a woman. Pregnancy is a normal biological function of a woman’s body.
Also, physicians have known for decades that fetal cells cross the placenta during pregnancy and recent research is starting to uncover a host of benefits for the mother from this transfer, including an overall reduced risk of rheumatoid arthritis and possible protection against breast cancer. So, in ways that we are just now discovering, babies can improve the physical life of their mothers.
npr.org/…/fetal-cells-may-protect-mom-from-disease-long-after-the-babys-born
Bubba, it is dehumanizing to refer to the unborn child as a “parasite” and it is scientifically false. The Oxford Dictionary has this definition of parasite – “an organism that lives in or on an organism of another species (its host)”.
Genetically and scientifically the beginning zygote and then fetus is of the human species. We ALL began the same way, and we did not magically change from a parasite to a human.
Our human rights should be protected on the objective basis of core humanity. Please consider that the first right enumerated in our Declaration of Independence is the “Right to Life”. That right forms the foundation for all our rights. Dehumanization is the very basis of oppression throughout the world. Our society and our world will in fact be improved as we protect ALL human beings.
Renee, the pro-life position respects the rights of both women and the unborn. There are two genetic human beings involved.
Also, there must be some level of self-responsibility. When a woman and man have consensual sex, they are also accepting all the potential consequences of those actions, which includes pregnancy. Our decisions carry responsibility. It is that way in every area of life. It would seem that the correct place to exercise body autonomy is prior to intercourse – when the woman can rightly exercise control over her own body. Once conception has occurred, she would then be exercising control over another’s body – the fetus’s.
A person’s choice extends only to the boundary where their choice negatively affects another person. The fetus is a biologically unique human being. The FIRST right enumerated in our Declaration of Independence is the Right to Life.
Regarding taking someone off a ventilator, that is a completely different scenario. When a person is taken off a ventilator, there is no active killing of the person. The natural course of death is simply allowed to take place. However, the natural course of the unborn is toward life and growth. Abortion must be used to actively interrupt the natural course.