Baloney Detector,

Well, evidently there is no certainty that human life begins at fertilization.

Yes there is. It is at conception that a unique human life is formed. Prior to that you have a sperm and egg.

Baloney Detector,

And the term "murder" is a legal word strictly applying to an act that is illegal...otherwise it is some blameworthy event.


If legality is your arbiter of whether something is acceptable or not then I am sure you were all for slavery (when it was legal) and against women's right to vote (which was legally restricted not too long ago) and so on.

Catus Felidae,

No, it doesn't. Science, which relies on facts, has no consensus on the subject.

Consensus is not science. The fact of the matter is that it is only at conception that a unique life is formed. That life, if left to progress in its natural course will become a fetus, an infant, an adolescent, an adult and then eventually die. There is no point in that continuum where the life is not human one day and the next day it magically is human.

Those are the facts. No consensus required.

Ok.

Then how is "a unique human life" defined, in your words?

Then call abortion "killing," in a legal sense, if it is legal to kill the unborn. Just don't call it "murder," in a legal sense, since it would not be murder if it is legal to kill the unborn.

Otherwise, one can call it "murder," in a non-legal sense, if they consider it a blameworthy event.

Baloney Detector,

Then call abortion "killing," in a legal sense, if it is legal to kill the unborn. Just don't call it "murder," in a legal sense, since it would not be murder if it is legal to kill the unborn.

If we are discussing the legality of it, then I would have to agree with you on this point. Words have meanings and we need to use them properly if we are going to communicate accurately.

However, in all respects except legality (and even there in more and more locations) the word murder is used to describe the deliberate and willful taking of an innocent life.

Which is an accurate description of abortion.

Then how is "a unique human life" defined, in your words?

A unique human life is a human life that is not the same as those from which it was conceived.

Whether that involves unique dna or a separate soul is beyond me. I believe and science confirms that the process begins at conception. From that point onward - if left to develop naturally - a unique human being (or beings) will result.

Prior to conception, if all things were left to continue naturally, no human being would result.

Conception is the single point in time at which one can say "before this point there was no unique life" and "after this point there is a unique human life". At no other stage in a pregnancy can that be said.

But this just begs the question, "How does this rational apply to an identical twin since an identical twin doesn't exist after fertilization takes place?"

There is, indeed, only one cell (or one "unique human life," if you prefer) after fertilization.

So, how can the single cell that results from the fertilization process represent more than one "unique human life?"

And, if this single cell does represent more than one "unique human life" since, during later cell division, an identical twin might exist, then what makes this single cell "unique" to begin with since it must, therefore, represent two or more "unique human lives?"

But this just begs the question, "How does this rational apply to an identical twin since an identical twin doesn't exist after fertilization takes place?"

There is no equation or law that says "one cell equals one life". I do not know how life begins I can only refer to a specific point in time and say "there was no life prior to this event (conception). After that event, there is life."

....then what makes this single cell "unique" to begin with since it must, therefore, represent two or more "unique human lives?"

Like I said above. There is no equation that says once cell must equal one life. Why can't that one cell have the unique elements of both people? It is the start of both their lives.

Obviously that one cell has the genetic information of two individuals. Prior to conception that information did not exist. After conception it exists and - left to develop naturally - it will continue to grow into two unique embryos, feti, infants, toddlers, teenagers, and so on until natural death.