It’s just a complete waste of time.
You see, I agree that abortion should be illegal after a certain time, just like it is now. That time should be determined after looking at medical science, concerning viability of the fetus. As science changes, that date may have to be changed as well. It’s a decision based on facts and logic.
Anti-abortionists, however, think that a collection of cells is a “child” from the moment of conception. There is absolutely no evidence to support this position. It is entirely based on either a religious belief or some sort of emotional belief, neither of which belong in our laws.
So whenever I try to debate with these people, I talk science. It doesn’t work. It’s like trying to convince the True Believers concerning creationism or climate change. Facts are meaningless to them when these facts counter their already-held beliefs.
So lately, I have just ignored them. I will fight them every step of the way, because their religious views do not belong in our laws, but I won’t debate them.
Yeah, I have the same problem.
“A blastula or collection of cells isn’t a person.”
“Prove it!”
Where did they learn basic rhetoric?
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Yes.
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According to Leviticus 17:11 the life of a creature is in the blood, and a fetus doesn’t start developing blood vessels until week 7. Thus, even Bible thumping nut jobs shouldn’t have any objection to stem cell research or abortions prior to week 7.
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True enough, but even so — the United States should not have any law based solely on the Bible or any other religious book.
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To Jonathan. At 18 days (week 3) the heart has already started pumping the blood, so this information is incorrect that at Week 7 the foetus starts developing the blood vessels. The heartbeat is already at 90 to 110 pulses by Week 4 and can be detected by a vaginal ultrasound. I am pro-choice btw, and I agree to Michael that Bible or any other religious book doesn’t have any place in making the laws but yes at Week 4 the heart is already beating.
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You mean a book written over 2000 years ago is wrong when it comes to medical science? Shocked! Shocked I am!
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lol Michael. Actually, we can’t argue with anyone with any books found in “fiction” section of the library. Bible, Koran, Vedas are all fiction and the religious folks will believe in them blindly without applying any logic or facts because they have been brain-washed to not “question” anything. These books supposedly have an answer to every question that may cause an individual to “think”. And, when you try to argue anyone with a blind belief, there`s no way you can debate anything. So you are right, there is no point debating anything with any such individual. The only way to fight the religions of the world is via knowledge. If we could keep religion out of classrooms and only present facts the problem life would be much better for everyone.
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I’m not a doctor, but I believe the heart of a fetus beats at 3 weeks only to circulate blood received from the mother through the umbilical cord. Here is an article on point which states “intraembryonic blood vessels” are developed after 35 days (5 weeks): http://www.biolreprod.org/content/71/6/2029.full.pdf In any case, religious doctrine should have no influence on our laws whatsoever. I only mentioned it as an argument to shut up zealots.
Furthermore, I disagree with Michael that the cutoff date for abortion should be dictated by medical science and the viability of the fetus. Presumably medical science will continue to improve over time which means eventually abortion would have to be outlawed completely since doctors will someday develop the means to safely develop a zygote (newly fertilized ovum) into a child via implantation into a new or perhaps even an artificial host.
As a lawyer I feel this issue should have been very easy to resolve, and believe the Supreme Court totally dropped the ball. A fetus has no birth certificate, so it is not a person and should have no legal rights whatsoever. The Supreme Court decided to grant rights to an unborn fetus to placate the religious members of society, but there was no basis in the law for their decision.
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It is possible to be a thinking, logical person and still believe in G-d. It’s even possible to question everything, and still believe in G-d. It is also possible to be a devout Christian and support a woman’s right to choose what happens to her body.
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