Is abortion an act of murdering a human being? Many will argue that abortion isn’t wrong on the basis that a fetus is not a human being; however, many will argue that abortion is wrong because its taking a human life, no matter what stage of pregnancy it is in. In my paper I will argue that life begins at conception and arrive at the conclusion that abortion is killing a human being. As well as providing premises for my view, I will also provide an objection to my argument. Whatever leads up to the statement, “He killed a human,” or, “she killed a human,” or, “the animal killed a human,” is an act of murder.
There is no justification for a man to kill a human being other than for self-defense. Any other act than that of self-defense that puts an end to human life, is an act of murder. To stretch that even further, murder is an unlawful, premeditated killing of one human being by another. Now lets take this information and apply it to the killing of an unborn child. First and foremost, we must establish when exactly human life begins in order to determine whether abortion, the killing of an unborn child, is murder.
After the moment of fertilization, nothing is added to the embryo except nutrition and oxygen from that moment until death. Since food and air consumption do not create human beings, the human embryo is fully human from the moment of fertilization. As stated in Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, “Human development begins at fertilization… “?. There are only four differences between a newborn baby and a pre-born baby: size, level of development, environment, and degree of dependency. A person’s size, intelligence, location, and need for help should not determine his or her worth as a human being.
The difference between a 30 year-old male and a 3 month-old baby does not determine the value of human life in the 3 month-old. Thus we can say, an unborn child is not a potential human being, rather an unborn child is a human being with great potential. Another case for life at fertilization is that of chromosomes. The ovum and the sperm are produced thru meiosis, a cell nuclear division, which reduces the chromosome number by half. This means that the ovum and sperm each possess only 23 chromosomes, whereas the characteristic of the human species has a chromosome count of 46.
As soon as the ovum and sperm meet, the chromosome count is 46. This 46 chromosome genetic code not only defines the new life as human, but also individual characteristics. Rene Descartes, a famous mathematician and philosopher, in an argument for the existence stated, “I think therefore I am. ” The meaning of this simple phrase is that if one is wondering whether or not he exists, that is in and of itself proof that he does exist (because, at the very least, there is an “I” who is doing the thinking). In order to exist, to be human, one must think. A fetus thinks, therefore it is.
At 20 days, the foundation of the entire nervous system has been laid down, including the beginning of brain development. At 43 days, electrical brain wave patterns can be recorded, often seen as evidence that “thinking” is taking place in the brain. “To accept the fact that after fertilization has taken place a new human has come into being is no longer a matter of taste or opinion … it is plain experimental evidence,” Dr. Jerome Lejeune, University of Descartes, Paris. The strongest objection to my argument is rather basic. When does human life really begin?
Pro-choicers, those supporting abortion, argue that no one knows when human life really begins. Furthermore, because no one knows when human life begins, pro-choicers act as if protectable human life begins at birth. They argue that although the unborn entity is human (belonging to the species Homo Sapiens), it is not a person and hence not fully human. Legally, for the sake of a woman’s choice and to justify abortion, life begins after birth. Scientifically, as I have shown, life begins at conception. “Every human embryologist, worldwide, states that life of the new individual human being begins at fertilization (conception),”? s stated by C. Ward Kischer (Ph. D. , Emeritus Professor of Anatomy, Specialist in Human Embryology). As I have argued, abortion is an act of murdering a human being. The second a sperm and egg are united, a new life is founded. From that point on, any attempt to abort this life form is tantamount to murder. Works Cited Keith L. Moore, T. V. N. Persaud. Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, 6th Edition. W. B. Saunders Company, 1998 C. Ward Kischer, “The Corruption of the Science of Human Embryology” November 23, 2008.
