Replies

"Yes, but the triggering of the growth by the union of egg and sperm results in a live birth less than half the time, even excluding intentional abortion by the mother."

Irrelevant.

You've stated that because an embryo will be a human it is murder to destroy it. I am stating that very few embryos actually become human. It is quite relevant that MOST embryos and very few implanted IVF embryos every become human. The reason it is significant is that the question of whether or not moral consequence attaches to the destruction of a small ball of cells is very much illuminated by the fact that few of those small balls ever become humans.

Some posters on this thread think that the ball of cells has a soul and is thus deserving of protection. Most of those people are unaware of how few of those balls of cells ever grow into babies. And, in fact, if it were correct that those balls of cells had souls, then Heaven would have more than a majority of souls of "people" who not only never lived, but who never got past the first week of development. When confronted with that fact, many people revise their thinking on whether or not a blastosphere has a soul or not.

So since your point is that destroying a 7 celled blastosphere is morally equivalent to killing a fully grown human, it is quite relevant to note that blastospheres which develop into babies which are then born are the exception rather than the rule.

"I am pointing out that eggs no longer need to be fertilized to create humans. And in fact you've tipped your hand by stating that the real issue is not fertilization, but when human life should or should not be protected. I think everyone on this thread agrees that human life should be protected, but there are various definitions of what counts as human life.

No, the real issue is whether or not a fetus is human, at whatever stage of development it's in. I say it is.

Right, but that is a matter of opinion. YOU say it is. OTHERS say it is not. Simply stating something doesn't make it true. If that were the case, I could just as likely listen to the opinions of others who state that a blastosphere is not yet human, but it very well might become one, at which point it would then become deserving of protection morally and legally.

"Catholics might want to protect sperm, others might want to protect a fertilzed egg, others might want to protect a developed fetus, and others might want to protect a baby only after it has been born. I'm told that Peter Singer thinks a baby deserves protection only well after it is born.

I think you need to study the Catholic position a bit more. You are wrong. The Catholic church's position is exactly mine, and for the same reason. Nothing whatsover in the Catholic position about wanting to "protect sperm".

Please note that I wrote "might want to" not DO want to. I was not stating church doctrine.

"I think that murder is defensible in some cases. For example in self-defense, I would argue that murder is morally justified. Quakers would disagree with me. I also think that capital punishment is morally justified in certain cases."

Neither self-defense nor capital punishment qualify as "murder". Abortion does.

Once again you have stated your opinion. Many people, including many Christians, believe that capital punishment is murder. Simply stating that it is not murder does not make it so.

And while most people would agree that infanticide is murder and that late term abortion is murder, I would wager that only a small minority of Americans think that destroying a blastosphere is equivalent to late term abortion.

Regards,

jas3

"Right, but that is a matter of opinion. YOU say it is. OTHERS say it is not. Simply stating something doesn't make it true. If that were the case, I could just as likely listen to the opinions of others who state that a blastosphere is not yet human, but it very well might become one, at which point it would then become deserving of protection morally and legally."

No, dear. SCIENCE says it is human. You know--things like biology and biochemistry. It may only be a few cells, but it is damned well human.

"Many people, including many Christians, believe that capital punishment is murder. Simply stating that it is not murder does not make it so."

Sorry, but the dictionary says you (and they) are wrong.

"1. The unlawful killing of one human by another, especially with premeditated malice. "

"The unlawful killing of a human being with deliberate intent to kill: (1) murder in the first degree is characterized by premeditation."

Since capital punishment is, by definition, lawfully done, it is not murder.