Life no philosophical case, but a reality
On Dec. 1, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on a Mississippi law that bans abortions after 15 weeks gestation. One of the solicitors included a statement like “… aside from the philosophical argument of when life begins …”
I beg to differ. When life begins is more a scientific and medical reality than a philosophical argument.
A woman’s body creates an egg that has her DNA but is not life. A man’s body creates sperm that has his DNA but is not life. When one sperm fertilizes an egg, the resulting cell has DNA that is unique. Growth begins. By the end of three days, that one cell has divided four times to become 16. Since non-life does not grow and self-replicate, is this not the very definition of life? And clearly it is human.
At this point, human life is microscopic and has no form that resembles a human body but is growing and has its own unique DNA. This is not just a part of the woman’s body – this is a separate human life that a woman has the privilege of hosting and the responsibility of protecting for nine months.