Volume > Issue > A Brief, Air-Tight Argument Against Abortion

A Brief, Air-Tight Argument Against Abortion

WITHOUT APPEALING TO RELIGION

By Eugene Hoyas | September 2001
Eugene Hoyas, a Byzantine Catholic, is a brand manager for a coatings manufacturer in New Jersey. He graduated with a double major in Zoology and Political Science from Drew University.

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.

Enjoyed reading this?

READ MORE! REGISTER TODAY

SUBSCRIBE

You May Also Enjoy

Unmasking the Executioner

I contend that the state in 2020 has been so corrupted by institutionalized murder that it has no authority to carry out executions of anyone.

The Seamless Garment in a Fragmented World

The consistent ethic does not demand that everyone become a dilettante who dabbles a bit in every political issue involving human life.

Joan Andrews's Stubborn Challenge to Prolifers

She is an acute embarrassment to the Catholic hierarchy, which has done nothing in her behalf; the National Right to Life Committee; and the liberal Catholic press