If cells reproduced ANYTHING, then either the laws of the universe stopped working and matter created matter, or it is a LIVING ORGANISM! Those are your ONLY TWO OPTIONS! One single reproduction of a cell is all it takes to "carry on the process." If the cell is malformed, or no more cells are produced, and the organism stops "carrying on the process," it then becomes a non-living organism. If it reproduced one cell, it was a living organism, and if it never produced another cell, and stopped functioning, it was a living organism that died. There is no option for a living organism to live, grow and reproduce, but not be alive yet. This contradicts biology and physics.
No can do. We lack the medical technology to be able to do this just yet. Perhaps there will come a day and time, where this 'option' could be an alternative to pregnancy, but for the time being, it's not an option. What we NEED to have, is an intelligent conversation on when it is moral and ethical to terminate human life. But we can't have that discussion because some of us want to remain juvenile, and ignorantly reject basic physics and biology.
As you've stated we've been over this many times so I'll spare you a lengthy reply. If science wants to classify a reproducing cell or two cells, if you will, as a living organism and anti-abortionists want to run with that and claim it's a human being there's no hope for an intelligent conversation. As for ignorantly rejecting physics and biology I reject the absurd notion two cells or a reproducing cell is a human being. The average human being is composed of 10 trillion to 100 trillion cells (
http://ask.yahoo.com/20020625.html) so to say 2 cells are equivalent morally, spiritually, physics-ly or biologically to a human being really doesn't deserve consideration. People, human beings, can classify anything any way they want and we've been over that before. (Recall the Grand Jury/ham sandwich era?)
a cerebral cortex... that's fine, I have no problem with those very valid and legitimate points being made, because those are arguable statements. But for nearly two years, we've gone over this same topic a hundred times, you repeat the same idiocy, you get debunked with the same facts, and we are getting nowhere. All I can say is, go read up on some biology books, you obviously didn't pass biology in high school, and it would probably be beneficial to you to gain some basic understandings before you attempt to carry on a conversation on this subject. I know you fancy yourself a know-it-all on every topic, but you are in way over your head on this.
And now to lighten things up you brought back a cherished memory. High school biology. There were 28 students in the class and 26 were girls. Then there was my friend and I. The teacher quickly decided my friend would sit at the front of the class and I would sit at the back, as far apart as possible.
One day my friend was not paying attention and the teacher told him, "If you don't want to be here you can leave." At that point my friend slowly closed his books, methodically gathered them up, the tension building, then got up and walked out of the class closing the door behind him. Silence followed. You could have heard a pin drop. Then the teacher asked, "Is there anyone else who wants to leave?" (You know what's coming, don't you?)
What could I do? 26 girls watching me. Me! A healthy, 16 year old male pumping with testosterone. My character, my reputation, my very manhood was on the line! A decision had to be made.
I raised my hand. When the teacher called my name I politely asked if I could take him up on that offer? All he uttered was a curt "Yes" and I exited the classroom. I saw my friend so we met up and started to walk towards our lockers and who should come around the corner? None other than the Principal. The situation was looking tense.
After a few words we were instructed to go downstairs to the main office office. The Principal then proceeded to the biology class.
A short while later the Principal and the biology teacher showed up and we all went into the Principal's Office. The story unfolded and my friend told the Principal about the offer to leave so he left. What was the problem? The Principal looked at my friend and angrily said, "You wouldn't walk out of my class!"
Now, bear in mind my friend ran a farm with his uncle. His mom and dad had passed away. They has 100+ head of cattle and my friend had chores to do at night plus milk the cows either before or after school and.....well, he took no sh!t from anyone. Plus he was a bit older than I. He quickly shot back to the Principal, "You think so? Let's go upstairs and try it."
Well, I really didn't want to laugh but my friend responded in such a matter-of-fact, dead-pan way I couldn't help myself. Now, you also have to remember corporal punishment was the fashion in those days so my friend took the Principal's remarks as a physical threat and my friend more or less implied if the Principal wanted his ass kicked he'd oblige him. And he could.
The Principal then told my friend he was expelled from the class. My friend couldn't have cared less. He walked out of the ofice. Then the Principal turned to me. (The story is almost over.)
"Are you going to apologize to the teacher", the Principal asked of me.
I doubt that", I replied.
"Fine", you're expelled, as well", was the Principal's retort.
"No problem but I insist on being able to write the high school exam next June", I countered. "I have no need for an instructor of such low caliber."
Well, winter and spring came and went, exams were written and a few days before the end of the school year I was walking through the classrooms taking a last look at things. As I passed through the empty biology class the teacher, sitting at his desk, called out, "I see you passed the exam."
"Yes, I did", I replied as I exited the other door.
I hope you enjoyed the story and being set straight on my passing high school biology.
Life begins at conception.
Depends on what you call life. A liver is alive. If you mean all conceptions are human beings you have no proof of that and evidence points to the contrary as I explained before. We see babies born with missing and/or malfunctioning parts. In other words they are not and never were able to carry on the processes of life. I suppose one could argue if the fetus remained inside the mother it would have kept living but, then again, human beings do not live inside other human beings.
An organism has to have the ability to carry on the processes of life and in some cases once it is detached from the mother (born) and the mother is no longer carrying on the processes of life for it, it dies. Was it alive? Of course, just like any other part of the woman which the woman's body supports. Was it independent and capable of carrying of the processes of life after the mother stopped doing so? No, it was not. Spin that any way you want.
