Republicans push for an amendment that would ban abortion; even if the woman is raped

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Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

I've always had a pretty tough time buying the "It's murder!" thing.

I mean, every month that a woman menstrates out an unfertilized ovum into the toilet... is she guilty of murder, because she refused to have the egg fertilized and that ovum could have been a life, even the next Albert Einstein? Of course not, that's crazy.

It seems like a slippery slope when people try to define the moment when "legitimate" life begins. If we're talking about a human zygote, then... you know... even a mosquito is more self-aware and intelligent than that at this point, so it can't be a question of quantifiable sentience.

"But it COULD become a life!" is the rallying cry I hear. But then I find myself arriving right back at the beginning of my argument in this post.

I guess I would say when there is brain activity, when it can think and feel.

Originally Posted by mysterycolor

And there is the rub- people want to use religious definitions and beliefs about life to dictate the rights that women have over their own bodies... In the United States the scientific explanation that brings us to life beginning at birth is what we have come to accept as truth- what someone believes is right or wrong within their personal life is moot because we have the privilege of separation of church and state. It is why we dont issue social security numbers for each pregnancy and issue death certificates in the case of a miscarriage- the government simply doesnt recognize it as a human life until it is born.

I't's not about dictating the rights that women have over their own bodies it's about giving rights to the unborn, and what does the separation of church and state have anything to do with supporting abortion or not?