Posted on 08/06/2005 9:39:34 PM PDT by beavus
Question: Hi, I was wondering about a bioethical issue that's really important today- abortion. Most of the debate about abortion revolves around when life begins, so I was wondering when most scientist's believe that life begins, since you obviously would know more about this subject. You don't have to give your moral beliefs or anything, but I would just like to know when you think that life begins... Thanks! =) Amit Srivastava
Answer 1: This is an important topic, but even (or especially) for a scientist you and I must realize that my "moral beliefs" will affect the kind of answer I give. Even the unfertilized egg and sperm are "alive" so in some sense life begins before fertilization! The fertilized egg is certainly alive, in that it can copy its genetic information (DNA) and it can divide into more and more cells. The more critical question, I think, is when that life becomes "human", and that is not a question that science will be able to answer. Human-ness is a religious, or moral, or philosophical question that is not likely to have a single agreed-upon answer. Steve J Triezenberg
Answer 2: I agree with Steve on both points. Life is continuous from one generation to the next. The real question is when does the developing human organism (embryo, fetus, infant, etc.) attain the basic rights of a person? These rights include the basic right to life. I also agree that this is a question of philosophy, not science. Brian Schwartz
Answer 3: I also agree on both points. It is part of the job of scientists to educate people that science will not be able to answer all of the great questions that plague us. Some of those questions, including the exact definition of life, will always have a philosophical or even religious component. Life itself may be easier to define than the issue of what is human. Will we someday perhaps not care about what is human, but rather be concerned with "sentience" or the realization that one is alive and unique with respect to others? Fascinating discussion! emayo
When I worked in a Maternity I learned that you can (or could at the time with the technology involved) pick up fetal heart sounds at 8 weeks. That, in my book knocks out all late term, mid term and most 1st term abortions right there.
Oh, I see. You misunderstand me. Life always begins tomorrow -- when they serve the free beer.
I don't do male mathematicians. I prefer female artistic types. Sorry.
It's best when the man is the smart one in a relationship.
WOW! What? is there a cooling off period or does the newborn need a waiting period for background checks.
"The involuntary use of another person's body is normally called "slavery".
Double WOW, fetal slavemasters, words fail me reading these thoughts.
"When does life begin?"
At the very beginning, ie, at conception.
That is false thinking. A rainbow is a continuum on the electromagnetic spectrum, but that does not mean that red and blue do not exist as distinct colors. Likewise, just because life is a continuum does not mean that sperm, zygote, baby, and adult are not distinct stages with different properties.
A continuum does not preclude differences along the continuum. It does preclude any meaningful sharp division between those differences, however.
I've heard it said not until 40.
Basic biology tells me that cell division equals life; as to whether or not it is human, do a chromosone check and identify what else if was.
I won't argue about this so save your breath.
If you haven't a good reason for it, there is no point in arguing about it. But perhaps that is for another debate--why people are most passionate about their least substantiated assertions.
even more when a sperm fertilizes an egg to form a fetus, it is a UNIQUE human. Biologically, this fetus has a gender, hair color, a face, a height, a risk of future diseases, eye color and depending on who you ask, personality. I think that is enough to answer all questions.
I won't argue about this so save your breath.
Translation: you won't think about it.
Are you scared of what you might find?
Hmm...if I were God, when would I put the soul into the newly created human?
From a Christian viewpoint, if we could answer that question, then I think we would have the answer to "when does human life begin?" and/or "when does a person attain rights?"
I don't think we'll ever have that answer, although I seem to recall hearing about some crazy doctor doing experiments to determine when and if the soul leaves the dying.
That's a great point. But laws are at best end results of ethical positions, not defenses of them. Still, it might be interesting to know the discussions that went into all of those legal decisions. I'd like to think they involved discussions on the meaning of rights, and how we know when they apply to things.
Shout all you want. It doesn't make it true.
What DOES it make? Certainly not something *other* than a human.
Exactly! I have identical twin girls and have read that even the 'time' when conception occurs makes a difference in the childs traits.
In other words, if the same egg and same sperm were to conceive a year later, the characteristics of that fetus would be somewhat different. It's an interesting thought.
Surely it isn't a beating heart that endows a thing with rights! If we were to apply that test, we'd all become vegans or scavengers.
Does the union of egg and sperm create life or cause death?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.