Ethics: Is Abortion Taking A Life?

[Bonzi]

At conception, is the being in a woman's body "alive"?

Is it anything other than human?

 

[Iceweasel]

I voted yes before reading you post. Abortion is taking a life but abortions don't take place at conception. You need to move the age up to find out where people stand. Some would abort right before delivery and call it "choice".

 

[Bonzi]

The survey is a direct question

My OP is just more follow up questions, so, they are separate

 

[Bonzi]

I really don't want this thread to SPECIFICALLY be about abortion...

More like a brain storming exercise.

Here's a question. Is taking the "morning after pill" taking a life?

 

[Skull Pilot]

It depends

The the fetus is viable outside the womb then yes

 

[Iceweasel]

I really don't want this thread to SPECIFICALLY be about abortion...

More like a brain storming exercise.

Here's a question. Is taking the "morning after pill" taking a life?

Well, cells are alive but that isn't a baby or fetus. Some times the body does it naturally, which I think the drug mimics. Should it be legal? Yes. Should pharmacists be forced to sell it? No.

 

[Bonzi]

It depends

The the fetus is viable outside the womb then yes

so an embryo is not a living thing? a life?

 

[Skull Pilot]

It depends

The the fetus is viable outside the womb then yes

so an embryo is not a living thing? a life?

Not really

 

[ChrisL]

It's a "potential" life, up to the mother whether or not she wants to carry it to term.

 

[Bonzi]

Let's use the following definition of "life" for discussion purposes:

the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death.

That being said, is it your stance that a human embryo is life ?

 

[Bonzi]

It depends

The the fetus is viable outside the womb then yes

so an embryo is not a living thing? a life?

Not really

Why is it not life? You were an embryo once. So, at that stage of your development you were dead?

 

[Mudda]

The bright light you see at the end of your life is from your head heading towards the opening of a vagina. So no, you're not alive until born.

 

[Skull Pilot]

Let's use the following definition of "life" for discussion purposes:

the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death.

That being said, is it your stance that a human embryo is life ?

An embryo has none of those capacities only the potential for them

If you want to define life as any biological cell then every time you take a crap you are murdering millions of lives

 

[Skull Pilot]

It depends

The the fetus is viable outside the womb then yes

so an embryo is not a living thing? a life?

Not really

Why is it not life? You were an embryo once. So, at that stage of your development you were dead?

The thing is I would never have known if I was not born would I?

 

[Bonzi]

The bright light you see at the end of your life is from your head heading towards the opening of a vagina. So no, you're not alive until born.

Alive in what way? Obviously, women have c-sections - not ever baby comes out of the vagina.

 

[Bonzi]

It depends

The the fetus is viable outside the womb then yes

so an embryo is not a living thing? a life?

Not really

Why is it not life? You were an embryo once. So, at that stage of your development you were dead?

The thing is I would never have known if I was not born would I?

But is awareness part of the definition of life? Is the definition of life for a human being different from other forms of life?

 

[ChrisL]

Let's use the following definition of "life" for discussion purposes:

the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death.

That being said, is it your stance that a human embryo is life ?

An embryo has none of those capacities only the potential for them

If you want to define life as any biological cell then every time you take a crap you are murdering millions of lives

Or when you pull out! All those poor sperms!

 

[Skull Pilot]

It depends

The the fetus is viable outside the womb then yes

so an embryo is not a living thing? a life?

Not really

Why is it not life? You were an embryo once. So, at that stage of your development you were dead?

The thing is I would never have known if I was not born would I?

But is awareness part of the definition of life? Is the definition of life for a human being different from other forms of life?

Of course awareness is part of human life.

In the absolute broadest sense any biological cell is life which means you are committing mass murder every day if you want to equate human life with any other biological cell

 

[ChrisL]

A fertilized egg is not a baby. I would not be against limiting abortion to the first trimester though. By the first 3 months, you should have made up your mind on whether you want to be a mom or not.

 

[Moonglow]

Let's use the following definition of "life" for discussion purposes:

the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death.

That being said, is it your stance that a human embryo is life ?

An embryo has none of those capacities only the potential for them

If you want to define life as any biological cell then every time you take a crap you are murdering millions of lives

I killed my sperm!