When we say “life begins at conception,” we mean the human life cycle begins with the zygote. But often others think we are trying to say “people [morally relevant and valuable humans] begin at conception.” This is a philosophical claim, not a scientific one. So when others counter with “science can’t tell us when life begins” […]
The fetus is a living human organism. When I state this long-standing and (at least in the field of biology) undisputed fact, pro-choicers usually have one of three reactions: Reaction 1: They argue the point based on ignorance of basic biology. “A single cell is not an organism.” “A zygote is no different than your […]
Disclaimer: This blog post is meant for biological definition purposes. It is not meant to establish or argue any moral or philosophical points. [Esta publicación está disponible en español aquí.] A zygote is a human being. 1. The zygote is an organism. Fertilization – the fusion of gametes to produce a new organism – is […]
[Today’s guest post by Caitlin Fikes is part of Secular Pro-Life’s paid blogging program.] I believe that there is a common and insidious cultural misconception with regards to fetuses: the subtle idea that birth is the true beginning of a human’s life, not only because that is when he or she is first socially acknowledged […]
Another day, another ridiculous “we don’t really know when life begins” hot take, this time from Slate author Elissa Strauss: But despite the insistence of anti-abortion activists, the notion that life begins at the bright line of conception is at odds with many ethical traditions. In a number of religions, when an embryo or fetus […]
Last Thursday, the ASAPscience channel on YouTube published a new video entitled What Actually Happens When You Have An Abortion? As of this writing, it has garnered over 1.5 million views and is #38 on trending. Take a moment to watch it now, and then we’ll delve into its inaccuracies. The first section, on abortion methods, […]
Last Wednesday, SPL published this blog post about an embryologist who conflated a scientific question with a philosophical question. Two years prior, the writer of the college biology textbook “Life,” Dr. Ricki Lewis (PhD), wrote a stunningly similar article called “When Does a Human Life Begin? 17 Timepoints.” I want to begin by pointing out that […]
What’s the most common argument you get into in the abortion debate? Do you argue about whether bodily rights justify abortion? Whether adoption is a better choice? Do you discuss the pros and cons of paid maternity leave, or maybe get into philosophical discussions about coma patients? There are plenty of complex topics and worthy […]
NARAL Pro-Choice America posted a video featuring Bill Nye giving his views on abortion. Throughout the roughly four and a half minutes, Nye says pro-lifers have a “deep scientific lack of understanding” and hold positions “based on bad science.” He thinks we anti-abortion folk “apparently literally don’t know what you’re talking about” (as opposed to […]
In the abortion debate, sometimes people describe pregnancy as “nine months of inconvenience” or a “temporary donation of the uterus” or other similar terms. Usually they use these descriptions because they are trying to show that, relative to abortion, unwanted pregnancy is not a very severe situation to endure. I do agree that abortion […]
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