Quote:
Originally Posted by djplong
I rarely trot this out because the abortion debate is SO very overheated.
Equating kids with defects (of which I was one - bi-lateral club feet) with something so undeveloped is showing some level of desperation.
[WARNING - the following is graphic]
Let me tell you - the mess that my ex-wife and I cleaned up from her miscarriage at just over 12 weeks wasn't pleasant in the least. Of course, what we saw was life sized - not blown up 10x with a soft focus to try and sway people's emotions.
[End warning]
I have two daughters (23 & 18) so we know well about the joys of parenting. But the way that some people equate a blastocyte with a fully-viable fetus is just something I can't agree with.
I'll be the first one to admit that I can't draw a line as to where it changes - but current restrictions on very late term abortions are certainly in order. I would suspect that concepts like 'viability' and 'sentience' happen on a more individual basis. For that very reason it's difficult at best to make a blanket rule.
Last time I checked, 96% of all abortions happen in the first trimester. That number doesn't get a lot of publicity compared to the vitriol over the comparatively microscopic number of late-term abortions (usually because of defects or endangerments - look up Tay-Sachs to see an example of the former).
Then you get politicians just making stuff up about Planned Parenthood (90%+ of their revenue is abortion based?!?! - more like *3* - and then the politician says his remarks on the floor of the House were "not intended as a true statement").
It's a VERY volatile subject that leans towards more screaming than debating.
That being said, I once heard Rush Limbaugh explain a reason for his opposition that at least I could understand. He said he was opposed to abortion because he believed it was part of an overall attitude that diminished the value of human life. I may not agree with that - but at least I can respect that kind of thought.
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djplong~ I am terribly sorry for the loss of your child. My husband and I lost one of ours in much the same manner. It was and still is one of the most painful experiences of our lives. You mention that you cannot necessarily agree with equating a blastocyte with a fully-viable fetus. There truly are not many comparison other than one. LIFE! The moment of conception takes a living part pf two seperate and distinct people with a different set of DNA and produces a third seperate and distinct living thing with its own different set of DNA. Viable on its own or not, it is living and growing at a MIRACULOUS rate! This LIFE will continue to grow, develop and mature just as a viable born baby will grow, develop and mature until death takes over. Death could come at anytime, 6years old, 21 years old, 65 years old, or 10 weeks after conception. Life or death, those are the two choices! The question isn't when life begins, the question is- who has the right to end it at anytime.
On another note, some folks believe that humans began as one celled amoebas, without even a one chambered heart, millions of years ago. Where does that leave the blastocyte theory?