I wrote this a couple days ago after DQs IUD question.
http://www.ronstringfield.com/?r=m&d=2&e=198
If Life Begins at Conception
You may well be pro-life, but you can not seriously believe that, legally, life begins at conception. Not unless you are willing to accept numerous exceptions to avoid absurd results.
Conception happens when the egg is fertilized. Pregnancy is achieved once the fertilized egg implants on the uterine wall. So conception happens prior to pregnancy. Between 30 and 50 percent of fertilized eggs fail to implant and are excreted during the menstrual cycle.
If life begins at conception then a fertilized egg that fails to implant is a death. If there is a death would the state then issue a death certificate? Would the state need to investigate the cause of the death? If not, then why not? If so, then how on earth would the state conduct such an investigation without extreme invasions of privacy? How would they even know that a death had occurred without monitoring every woman's menstrual cycle?
What about actions by the mother which might lower the chances of implantation, though not taken for that express purpose? For instance, breastfeeding reduces ovarian activity. This causes the uterus to thin, which may in turn prevent implantation of a fertilized egg (Note: the reduction of ovarian activity may also prevent egg production altogether). Some studies have also shown that smoking, alcohol and even caffeine may also reduce the chance of implantation (along with causing a host of other fertility issues).
What about women that have had partial hysterectomies? If their ovaries are left intact they can continue to produce eggs. These eggs are often fertilized and without a uterus they are not likely to implant (Note: they can implant on other organs in the abdomen or fallopian tubes).
What about older women, for whom a fertilized egg is far less likely to implant?
Should these actions that result in a fertilized egg failing to implant be treated as homicides? Should these women be allowed to continue having sex at all when it is so likely to result in death?
It is ridiculous for us to pretend that a fertilized egg excreted during a woman's menstrual cycle is a death. While it might be a boon for the funeral business it would require massive government intervention into our lives to prevent.
While this does not argue that real abortion (i.e., abortion is early termination of a pregnancy which is not possible before pregnancy has been achieved) must remain legal, it does argue against a poorly thought out slogan or any attempts to outlaw contraceptives that work after fertilization and prior to implantation/pregnancy.
http://www.ronstringfield.com/?r=m&d=2&e=198
If Life Begins at Conception
You may well be pro-life, but you can not seriously believe that, legally, life begins at conception. Not unless you are willing to accept numerous exceptions to avoid absurd results.
Conception happens when the egg is fertilized. Pregnancy is achieved once the fertilized egg implants on the uterine wall. So conception happens prior to pregnancy. Between 30 and 50 percent of fertilized eggs fail to implant and are excreted during the menstrual cycle.
If life begins at conception then a fertilized egg that fails to implant is a death. If there is a death would the state then issue a death certificate? Would the state need to investigate the cause of the death? If not, then why not? If so, then how on earth would the state conduct such an investigation without extreme invasions of privacy? How would they even know that a death had occurred without monitoring every woman's menstrual cycle?
What about actions by the mother which might lower the chances of implantation, though not taken for that express purpose? For instance, breastfeeding reduces ovarian activity. This causes the uterus to thin, which may in turn prevent implantation of a fertilized egg (Note: the reduction of ovarian activity may also prevent egg production altogether). Some studies have also shown that smoking, alcohol and even caffeine may also reduce the chance of implantation (along with causing a host of other fertility issues).
What about women that have had partial hysterectomies? If their ovaries are left intact they can continue to produce eggs. These eggs are often fertilized and without a uterus they are not likely to implant (Note: they can implant on other organs in the abdomen or fallopian tubes).
What about older women, for whom a fertilized egg is far less likely to implant?
Should these actions that result in a fertilized egg failing to implant be treated as homicides? Should these women be allowed to continue having sex at all when it is so likely to result in death?
It is ridiculous for us to pretend that a fertilized egg excreted during a woman's menstrual cycle is a death. While it might be a boon for the funeral business it would require massive government intervention into our lives to prevent.
While this does not argue that real abortion (i.e., abortion is early termination of a pregnancy which is not possible before pregnancy has been achieved) must remain legal, it does argue against a poorly thought out slogan or any attempts to outlaw contraceptives that work after fertilization and prior to implantation/pregnancy.
