Life : Beginning at Conception
"Life is a right inherent by nature in every individual; and it begins in contemplation of law as soon as an infant is able to stir in the mother's womb"
Within the scientific debate of life, scientist argue that life begins at conception. From the Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, embryo is defined as "Embryo: The developing individual between the union of the germ cells and the completion of the organs which characterize its body when it becomes a separate organism.... At the moment the sperm cell of the human male meets the ovum of the female and the union results in a fertilized ovum (zygote), a new life has begun (Considine 943)." From this information the scientific argument suggests that life begins when the egg meets the sperm, therefore equating life to the transfer of genetic information between the male counterpart and female counter part. In American law, this scientific theory is used, and relied on to prove that abortion is unconstitutional. The article "Saving Personhood" by Clarke Forsythe, states "In 1765 William Blackstone, the leading authority on the English common law wrote: 'Life is a right inherent by nature in every individual; and it begins in contemplation of law as soon as an infant is able to stir in the mother's womb" (Forsythe 1)". Since an "infant is able to stir in the mother womb" immediately, this would then mean at conception, life has begun. Also, life is an inherent right, forces the law to protect the fetus as a person under the United States constitution, which states that all have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
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In an ongoing battle, many individuals and politicians who believe in life begin at fertilization, also believe that abortions should be unconstitutional because abortions are a violation of rights under the fourteenth amendment. According to the research of Rob Schwarzwalder, former presidential appointee of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, through science the life beginning at fertilization is undeniable, therefore the life should be protected under the constitution. The research states,
"The zygote is composed of human DNA and other human molecules, so its nature is undeniably human and not some other species. The new human zygote has a genetic composition that is absolutely unique to itself, different from any other human that has ever existed, including that of its mother (thus disproving the claim that what is involved in abortion is merely "a woman and her body")" (Schwarzwalder 1). This supports the concept that the fetus and the mother are not one, but two separate human beings, which both of their lives should be protected. Overall, once the egg meets the sperm and fertilization occurs, the fetus is a potential person, during gestation the zygote grows into an embryo to a fetus, and then birth into a human life. With the building blocks of life held in the DNA, essential at the moment of conception, the two counterparts create life, showing the side of how life begins at conception. |
"The attack on the innocent and defenseless life of the unborn has its origin in an erroneous view of human sexuality, which attempts to eliminate, by mechanical or chemical means, the essentially procreative nature of the conjugal act. The error maintains that the artificially altered conjugal act retains its integrity. The claim is that the act remains unitive or loving, even though the procreative nature of the act has been radically violated. In fact, it is not unitive, for one or both of the partners withholds an essential part of the gift of self, which is the essence of the conjugal union. The so-called "contraceptive mentality" is essentially anti-life. Many forms of so-called contraception are, in fact, abortifacient, that is, they destroy, at its beginning, a life which has already been conceived" |