A Brief, Air-Tight Argument Against Abortion
WITHOUT APPEALING TO RELIGION
One of the most frequently asked questions in the abortion debate is: “When does life begin?” It’s the wrong question. Life, as any biologist will tell you, never begins. It always ends, eventually — but it never begins. All living matter comes only from other living matter.
Let us narrow the scope of the question. “When does human life begin?” The answer is the same as above: Human life comes only from pre-existing human life. Living human cells come only from other living human cells.
Alright then, “When does human life become a human being?” That is the correct question. The answer lies in the definition of “human being.” Biologically, a living human being is an organism, Homo sapiens.
What, then, is an organism? It is a living, corporeal entity that exists and functions of, by, and for itself. It may consist of a single cell, such as an amoeba, or of a group of cells, tissues, and organs that can achieve titanic size, such as a blue whale.
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