Vanity: Question for Pro-Life activists

1/27/2003 | me

[yonif]

Question for pro-life actvists. I am pro-life of course, but I got a question to those who make it their main issue of activism:

If we believe that the life of the person starts at the beginning of the process, that is, when the baby is conceived, wouldn't the age of the baby include the time it is spent in the mother's womb?

So, if a baby is born after 9 months in the womb of the mother, then it is 9 months old when it is born and not 0 as it is currenty accustomed.

Is setting the age of the baby at 0 when it is born correct in your opinion? Or should it be a more accurate in the way I described above?

What do you think?

[BigLittle]

I have heard (years ago)that in China, a baby is considered one year old at the time of birth. I always liked that thought.

[N3WBI3]

Some cultures do set it at conception. I think the reason birth is used is that some exactness might be had. I took 10 mos (give or take) and my sister took 8 (give or take).

[lilylangtree]

Celebrating birthdays should be eliminated after 21. Besides, a person is as old as they feel. I hope when I reach 90 that I act and feel like I'm 20. Dangnabbit! Where's that fountain of youth pill?

[yonif]

I believe you are right. When I lived there, that is what I was told.

[xyggyx]

Along the same line of thought... should you have a funeral for a misscarriage that happens a few weeks after conception? Something like 50% of pregnancies will miscarry before the embryo has a chance to be attach to the womb. After that it drops to 30%, and after that misscarriage risk goes way down.

But anyways, if the baby is alive at conception as most pro-lifers agree, why not name the embryo and have a funeral for a miscarriage? If removing the embryo is murder, why not mourn it's natural death with a traditional funeral?

(this is just food for thought, I'm pro-life, don't flame me)

[Sloth]

What people are *trying* to explain to you is that including gestation in one's age would make it difficult to state with any precision. Since you don't know your conception date, you could only say, "I'm around 30" instead of "I turned 30 the 14th of last month." In other words, it's not feasible.

[yonif]

True, but can't the doctor estimate how old the baby is when they check the mother, once she goes for a checkup?

[gundog]

Thanks, if a bit premature...I was born 9 months after St. Valentine's Day. :)

[ElkGroveDan]

Technically yes, but a lot of behavioral development is related to post-birth age, so the age does give a good gauge of how mature the child really is especially in the infant months.

But I do have fun when people ask me how many kids I have when we are expecting (as is the case now). I say I have five kids and when I tell their ages, some people say "Oh you mean you have four and are expecting one." and I reply "No, I have five children and one is not born yet."

[N3WBI3]

no its not an important factor. My wifes father does not even know the exact day he was born when he came here he just gave them a date in the season he was born..

[New Horizon]

Well, you really can't always pinpoint the precise moment of conception. The precise moment of birth is the more acurate measurement of age.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

But those dates can be off, by weeks. It is a guesstimate, not exact.

[New Horizon]

I should have read the half-dozen or so other replies before posting mine. Sheesh.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

If you have a baby born from Jan 1st through April 15th, test your theory with the IRS by claiming them on the prior years return.

Good luck.

[N3WBI3]

but to the day of conception it is not practical to know..

[yonif]

Of course.

But I take it most pro-life activists agree that technically you are not 0 in your age when you are born, right?

[luckystarmom]

Where did this come from?? Very interesting.

[luckystarmom]

I hope not. I had multiple miscarriages, and I almost lost my 6 week old baby twins. The miscarriages were nothing compared to almost losing my baby girls.

[New Horizon]

But I take it most pro-life activists agree that technically you are not 0 in your age when you are born, right?

Yes, but I would say that you are 0 from a "birthday" standpoint, if the basis for that is when you finally come out, which it is.

But there is no way anyone can honestly look at a developing fetus and say that it is something other than a human baby up until the moment of birth...not even pro-death folks.

[Pest]

Some women have miscarriages very early in their pregnancy. So early, in fact, that they don't even realize they were pregnant. I think miscarriages are relatively common and some women have several. What would you do about that? Have a funeral every other month? Sounds kinda morbid to me.