What makes a human, human? Seriously?

Question

I asked a question about abortion and recd. This as one answer….

I'll give the same answer I did before. If it is pre-viability, then the mother can choose to abort for any reason she wants to, as it is not yet a human being.

Is it not human until it draws breath? Is it human when it’s heart starts to beat? Is it human when it has 10 fingers 10 toes? Is it a human when the mother can feel it kicking?

Some of you will say its ‘alive’ when he/she can survive outside the womb on its own, as a father of 3, one being almost 20 I can honestly say he still can not ‘Survive’ on his own.


My question is simple, who gets to decide when a pre-born child is human?

Answer 1

God gets to decide. Jeremiah 1:5 tells us that God knows us before He knits us in the womb. Psalm 139:13-16 speaks of God’s active role in our creation and formation in the womb. Exodus 21:22-25 prescribes the same penalty for someone who causes the death of a baby in the womb as the penalty for someone who commits murder. This clearly indicates that God considers a baby in the womb as just as much of a human being as a full-grown adult. For the Christian, abortion is not a matter of a woman’s right to choose. It is a matter of the life or death of a human being made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27; 9:6).

Answer 2

It is always human. Just as a dog fetus is a canine and a monkey fetus is still an ape. I think what you mean is when is it a "person". The person debate is a good one for the argument of abortion. If a tiny ball of cells cannot live on its own, it is not a person IMO. A baby in the womb is a parasite of sorts as it is using another being for its nutrition and livelihood. When it can live on it's own is something we can't know because premature babies are immediately given warmth, ventilators, heart surgery, etc. So it seems that even pre-born babies can live, but not without human intervention. Who gets to decide all of these things? Unfortunately it is the law, because if a baby is born premature, and the parents do not want to intervene, they are shunned, and then the hospital and courts take over. This is what our society has come to...

Answer 3

That is the rub.

Its a moral question that we need to figure out. Is it at conception? Even though the human body naturally aborts fetuses during miscarriage all the time?

I would turn the question back on you?

My answer is that it is human, when it is born. Viability isn't really the issue, because babies aren't viable without parents.

But to call abortion murder is disingenuous also, as it puts the life of the baby ahead of the life of the mother.

The biggest problem with this issue is that it is wrapped up in religion and religious belief. That tends to heighten an issue to the point where discussing it becomes dangerous and stressful.

If we were able to put religious belief aside, I believe we could come up with a moral solution, but with religion intertwined with the issue, there will always be disagreement, based on faith and not biology.

Answer 4

A human is human at conception. If he or she is not a human being what else could they be? Abortion proponents use all sorts of excuses to smooth over the fact that they endorse the murder of innocent babies. But, poo is still poo even if you put icing on top, is it not? The lengths selfish and hateful people will go to justify their ways.

I believe that there are extenuating circumstances which may permit abortion though. But, wanting to look like a bird (as Paris Hilton), saving your money for nice cars, or to continue on a whoring without consequence are not those circumstances.

People in our country have a difficult time with this one because of the conceit and greed in their hearts. It's difficult to admit that they are wrong if it means that they can't continue to selfishly do as they please, even at the expense of others.

Answer 5

I was able to convince a hard core pro-choose believer that the "fetus" is human the moment of conception.
Because the DNA of the fetus is the same as it will ever be throughout it's entire life starting the very moment it is once-celled organism the quickly becomes two, then three...
The DNA is also completely, totally and definitely unique. It is a completely new human being completely separate from the mother.

Answer 6

I believe that once the egg and the sperm are fertilized, its a human being. Just not a fully grown one. I don't think its true that a humans a human when they can live on their own without any support because think about it, people who live off life support machines are still humans, their body's just aren't ready to support themselves yet. It is God that decided a pre-born child is a human from day one, when he had that child's creation planned out.

Answer 7

You can tell that a human is a human by looking at the DNA, which is unquestionably human at conception.

Because this is easily verified by science, most abortion advocates don't argue about when it is human, instead they argue when it becomes a *person*.

I believe abortion is always wrong, whether the mother is one week along or 8 1/2 months along.

Answer 8

So it has to be human now?

I thought we were still on the if it's alive and living argument.


So I guess just being alive doesnt qualify as life any more;it has to actually look like a human?

Answer 9

It in biological life in the womb, when the child draws it's first
breath (neshamah) it receives a soul, just as the first man Adam
was given the breath of life.

Answer 10

I've never seen a pre-born human be born anything but a human. What else could they be, horses?

God breathed the breath of life into mankind and that is what makes us human. We are human when God says we are. God says that takes place at conception...period.