>I would go on to ask the questions, When do the rights attach? Is it
>the moment the "sperm hits the egg?" Or is it at some point
>thereafter? <
Yes, that is the underlying issue.
Biologically, I do not see point where a clear line could be drawn
after fertilization in the process of development. A fertilized egg
will eventually develop into an adult individual, given a suitable
environment, nutrition, lack of fatal mutations, etc. Given the
limited knowledge of developmental biology available in Biblical
times, I do not think precise stages can be identified from the
descriptions of pregnancy or development (although such has been
claimed for the Koran, using a lot of imagination)..
It seems rather ironic that the extreme pro-abortion faction (i.e.,
there is no reason not to kill a developing embryo until after birth,
if you want) implies by their position some event of special creation
at (or after) the birth of each human.
Dr. David Campbell
Old Seashells
University of Alabama
Biodiversity & Systematics
Dept. Biological Sciences
Box 870345
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 USA
bivalve@mail.davidson.alumlink.com
That is Uncle Joe, taken in the masonic regalia of a Grand Exalted
Periwinkle of the Mystic Order of Whelks-P.G. Wodehouse, Romance at
Droitgate Spa
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