To: hocndoc
A fetus, a baby, a toddler, a teen, and an adult are all different stages of the same human being. But there is a great difference between a fetus and the others. A baby, toddler, teen and adult are autonomous beings, breathing air, feeding on their own, being aware of their surroundings and making decisions(in varying degrees) - a fetus does none of that. The clearest difference is that a fetus can do nothing without its mother and all other stages mentioned can - to varying degrees - function as human beings. To put a zygote or fetus in the same status as babies, toddlers, teens and adults is just not accurate.
582 posted on
06/23/2003 6:29:34 PM PDT by
Semper
To: Semper
The embryo and fetus need less effort on the mother's part to "feed" than the infant does. Even a breast feeding mother has to pick up and postition the child (not to mention take care of the diapers).
And, by your definition, none of the people dependent on IV's and feeding tubes are persons.
In the case of the infant and small child (and all the people on IV's and feeding tubes), someone else can kill them by neglect: just don't feed them, they'll die. In the case of and elective abortion on the prenatal human, someone must purposefully and intentionally act to kill.
585 posted on
06/23/2003 7:56:47 PM PDT by
hocndoc
(Choice is the # 1 killer in the US)
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