How anyone intelligently or otherwise, contest the humanity of the fetus ?

Question

Does truth matter to anyone anymore?
An unborn baby has a heartbeat at around 3 weeks, brain waves at 6 weeks, ...and so forth.

http://www.mccl.org/stages4.htm
http://www.mccl.org/stages2.htm (perfectly shaped feet show...)
http://generationsforlife.org/questions/unborn/#stages

Yes this topic is trouble for sure. But as a very dynamic being said in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: "Trouble? I call it sport!"

Question for those who consider it reasonable to abort the creature who could not survive on its own: would you feel the same about aborting the puppies in the womb of a dog? And at what point would you spare them?
In essense do you consider a human fetus to have less rights to grow securely within its mother, than animal fetuses?

Answer 1

because it is easier to rationalize having an abortion if you don't admit that the fetus is a real baby.

Answer 2

Does the embryo (it's not a fetus yet) have human genetics. Sure. So does an unfertilized egg.

Does it have a heartbeat and brainwaves? Sure. At various points along the process, depending on its development. So does a snail or a frog or a puppy. That, by itself, doesn't give it the same rights as a living breathing thinking independent human being.

You're also ignoring the distinction between brain waves from the hind-brain, which regulate simple bodily functions, and the higher cerebral functions that are indicative of consciousness and thought, which show up around the 6-7 month timeframe. Bet we'll ignore that for now.

Can the embryo survive independently of the mother at three weeks, or six, or sixteen? No. Not before it reaches the point of viability. And that becomes the fundamental issue.

The issue isn't when it has human characteristics, or whether it has the potential to eventually become an independent living breathing person.

The issue is when along the process the embryo or fetus can survive independently of the mother, whether using medical technology or on its own. And that is the point that pro-choice advocates argue should be the point when the fetus has independent rights. Not before.

Because prior to that point, the mother is an absolute required participant if the embryo is going to continue growing. And our Constitution does not allow one person to be placed in servitude for the benefit of another against their will and free choice.

Answer 3

If you wish to discuss the humanity of the fetus, you just need to do a karyotype and find out it's genetics. If it has a human karyotype, it has human DNA and is therefore human.

So is a skin cell or a hair ... yet we have no qualms about washing them off or throwing them away (most of us).

If you wish to address whether or not the fetus is a PERSON and has rights attending being a person, that is a far deeper question.

Have a look at the wikipedia article about persons

Okay - now it sort of comes down to what you believe.

Many Catholics believe that the fetus is a person from the moment sperm meets egg.

Pro-Choicers believe that it takes a little more than human DNA to make you a person.

Arguably, it takes a long time - well beyond the time of viability - before this ball of cells is going to be a person and have the rights of a person (unless you subscribe to the Catholic ideas).

Answer 4

In the fetal stage, is it a separate person from the mother? No! Can it survive in the out side world? No! Is it nothing more than a mass of specialized cells? YES! Surgeons commonly remove tumors (not fetus') that have hair, teeth finger nails and toenails growing on them. Is this tumorous mass a person? NO!
Next question.

Answer 5

Pro-choicers have clouded the mind of the public with labels and spin. They call themselves pro-choice which insinuates that it is a womans right issue when in fact it is a life of a human being issue. Is it a choice? Yes, ofcourse it is. We all make choices. I can choose to kill my neighbor. That would be a bad choice and I would be sent to prison for it. The woman does have the "ability" to choose. Not the right. She can choose wrongly and pay for it. Whether by man's law or God's law. In the end she will pay. With choices come consequences either good or bad. It depends on the ethics of the choice.

Answer 6

Absolutely... HEARTBEAT DOESNT MAKE IT HUMAN.... A FISH HAS A HEARTBEAT AND BRAINWAVES! i don't think it even qualifies as a fetus until it looks like a person... A BALL OF CELLS IS NOT A PERSON!!!!

Answer 7

i agree that a fetus is a living thing- but lemme tell you you're asking for it with this question. you're going to get some interesting answers