The Real Question - When Does Life Begin?

When Roe v Wade was judged in 1973, our knowledge of the development of a fetus was still very juvenile. Ultrasound, MRI's and other non-invasive forms of human exploration were in their infancy. We had not even develop amniocentesis, extracting fluid from inside the placenta, to the point of being able to determine more than a couple of possible problems with the unborn child.

Today, 46 years later, we have miraculous visions into the womb that were not even dreamed of in 1973. Now we can watch and record a child play, laugh, smile, and grasp things. We see twins cuddle and play with each other. We can determine heart and lung anomalies. We even have the ability to perform major surgery on the fetus to correct defects in the womb, enabling the child to grow to maturity and be born at normal gestation.

These miraculous advances have shown all of us that a fetus is not just a mass of useless protoplasm; it is an independent, functioning entity that only relies on the mother for nourishment and protection.

The scale of development to human-hood is a sliding scale as the zygote begins as literally a cell that divides and divides and divides until it takes shape and individual organs appear. Within a few weeks, all the organs and appendages are are there and a heart begins to beat. From there on, it just continues to grow in size and functionality.

Everyone acknowledges that at some point, the fetus is a functioning human being, the question is when?

I am in complete support of a woman's right to choose what she does with her body. She can color her hair, cut it all off, remove moles, blemishes and even appendages, if she chooses. She can be as wise or stupid as she chooses. The same right exists for men.

But as in all of our choices, when our choice infringes negatively on the rights and freedoms of another individual, then society has the responsibility and right to limit those actions. That is why we incarcerate those who steal, rape, and murder others because we want to protect society.

If Roe v Wade were tried today, with the knowledge of medicine we now enjoy, there is no way it could have gone the way it did. The Justices then were grappling with the concept of when life begins. Conventional thinking told them that a baby born more than 5 weeks early had a very low rate of survival. They errored on the side of objective observation and chose birth as that point of viability. But they errored still the same.

Proponents advocate that because a child is dependent on it's mother until birth, it is not autonomous until birth. But a baby is still dependent on mothers and fathers for several years before it can survive alone in the world. Some at 35 and 40 years of age are still not capable of surviving on their own as they grow in womb-like basement bedrooms attached to video monitors, living virtual lives.

Other babies aborted weeks or months before final gestation, survive for hours on abortion tables and in dumpsters until rescued. Many of these children, when rescued and nurtured, survive and grow into adulthood. Today, a child born at 25 weeks,12 weeks early or the beginning of the 3rd trimester, has a 50% rate of survival and at 32 weeks, 5 weeks early, has the same survival rate as a full term baby, 37 weeks.

I have a grandson that was born 2 months early, 29 weeks, and now is a fully functioning teenager with all the dreams, abilities, and aspirations of his fully gestated friends. It is impossible to guess when each was born.

Nearly all the arguments for abortion are based on selfishness or fear.

"This will ruin the girl's life".
"She can't afford to raise another child".
"It is  woman's right to choose to deliver or not." 

We have an innate desire for the easier route.

We shun exercise, balanced diets, and hard work while we indulge in over-eating, laziness, and inactivity.

We seldom realize, until it is too late, that proper diet, abstinence of harmful elements, and vigorous activity are necessary for a long, productive life.

Obstacles make us grow stronger.
Adversity teaches us to succeed.
Challenges give meaning to life.

This blatant disregard for human life by de-humanizing a fetus so it can be cast away, is a shocking revelation of the attitudes of many in our society. This is the continuation of subversive efforts to alienate us from ourselves, to de-value the undesirable or objectionable elements of society, to trivialize those who disagree with the higher or enlightened path of the new "woke" generation.

It is the path to the destruction of all that has made mankind different from the vicious animal kingdom; compassion, empathy, and selfless love.

It is the road to moralistic ruin. - dlm