--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Charlie Bell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > No, I'm saying WHAT THEY'RE CALLED is beside the point.
Which I continue to fail to understand. Obviously, some very intelligent people believe that HeLa are of, at minimum, another genus from humans, let alone of another species. Are you trying to say that this is entirely whimsical? Or would you concede that it reflects some underlying reality? After all, the HeLa cannot mate with human beings and produce fertile offspring. Nor does it have an adult stage as an adult stage human. > OK. Take an 8-cell embryo. Bisect it. Implant one half, it'll > become a normal person. Is it murder to kill the other half? Is it murder to kill an identical twin? > I think a 5 month foetus has more rights than an 8-cell embryo, > because, as I've said, it's around the time where it could > survive without its mother (22 weeks or so is the current limit), > I think it has reached a point in development that means it should > be protected > from abortion. We earn rights as we reach various stages. As I've > said many times, I think 12 - 16 weeks should be the latest that > abortion should be allowed - it's well before the time that the > foetus can survive, well before the time it can feel pain, but > long enough that the mother has time to act. I think the 23 week > rule in the UK is way too late, and I think late-term abortions > are a disgrace. I greatly respect your position (and didn't quote all of it). In fact, I wish that more pro-choicers in America where as honest as you are. Your honesty above is, in all reality, a breath of fresh air. A few quibbles, however. First, I don't know that 12-16 weeks is "well before the time it can feel pain." It seems like there is at least some evidence that pain can be felt as early as 8 weeks... http://tinyurl.com/jd5zu You also mention that you like the 12-16 week time limit because it is "long enough that the mother has time to act." Out of curiosity, why is this a consideration? If technology were ever to advance to the point that even a 4 week-old fetus could be kept alive, would that change your position? Or would you still define humanity as beginning "after enough time for a mother to act?" Finally, do you believe that a third trimester abortion of a healthy baby is the killing of a human being? Of one at 22 weeks? JDG _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
