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When does a human life begin? – Poll about abortion

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Image by Pixabay.

 

Last night, I was thinking of women who decide to abort when they find out their unborn baby has serious health issues or genetic conditions, such as Down Syndrome.

I remember a girl, a Paralympic champion affected by the syndrome, who went to Iceland to sensitize about abortion. Iceland is the country where almost all women decide to stop the pregnancy when the fetus is diagnosed with Down Syndrome.

The girl said “Am I loathsome? I’m not a bad person. Why do you want to kill people like me, and erase us from the world?”

 

However, I didn’t really want to talk about abortion in the case a fetus is diagnosed with Down Syndrome.

I was wondering about a matter that finds no official answer.

Is the embryo alive? Is abortion a murder? When does a human life begin?

I take the opportunity to ask you this. I will briefly explain the options.

 

Conception

It’s when the egg gets fertilized and starts to grow.

The egg then sticks to the womb and the pregnancy begins.

It is alive, technically, but it’s probably less smart and conscious than one of the many Escherichia coli bacteria living in our guts. At the same time, it has the potential to grow an intestine that will host the same Escherichia coli bacterium I mentioned before.

 

First Brain Activity (2nd month)

The brain starts its electrical activity after about 5 weeks from conception.

Of course, the brain is not fully developed, but the brain of newborn babies isn’t either.

Despite the neural activity, the embryo is not conscious. It’s like in a vegetative state.

Medical abortions, those induced by drugs, are performed until the 9th week of pregnancy.

 

Quickening (3rd month)

We no longer have an embryo, but a fetus. And it starts moving.

That’s what ‘quickening’ means.

However, most women can’t feel the movements until the 4th or 5th month.

This activity is spontaneous and doesn’t imply there’s consciousness.

At this time, it’s possible to take a screening test that tells if a fetus is likely to have genetic conditions such as Down Syndrome. If the result is positive, it can be confirmed by taking a diagnostic test, which is more invasive and may cause a miscarriage.

Surgical abortions eventually become the only possible solution to end the pregnancy.

I won’t tell more about surgical abortions because they’re gruesome.

 

Baby gender (5th month)

Here you can simply find out what the gender is via an ultrasound.

It makes the fetus more alive somehow, as you start wondering what name you could give.

Its senses are developing, it can taste what the mother is eating.

 

Viability (7th month)

This is the time where the fetus has high chances to survive outside the womb.

It can respond to averse stimuli, is able to perform voluntary actions and starts to recognize different sounds. We are now sure it’s conscious.

We no longer talk of abortion or miscarriage here, it’s either a premature birth or a stillbirth.

  • Question of

    What’s your stand on abortion?

    • I’m against abortion in all cases
    • I’m in favor of abortion in some cases
    • I’m pro-choice in all cases
  • Question of

    Would you end a pregnancy if the screening test for genetic conditions was positive?

    • Yes
    • No
    • I don’t know/I prefer not to answer
  • Question of

    When do you think an embryo, or a fetus, can start to be considered as a human being with a right to life?

    • Conception
    • First Brain Activity (2nd month)
    • Quickening (3rd month)
    • When gender is revealed (5th month)
    • Viability (7th month)
    • Birth

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What do you think?

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Written by sabtraversa

24 Comments

  1. I didn’t want my thought and research to go wasted, but I didn’t expect comments because it’s a very difficult, and controversial, topic.
    Actually, I didn’t even expect it was going to be approved.

    1

    • I don’t know, I thought it could have been offensive towards some people. I had one post that was rejected, but it wasn’t that important anyway. ?

      1

    • Opinions eventually appear as comments, and on some places it can create flame and chaos, but members seem to have been respectful towards each other so far. ?
      The poll that was rejected was about conspiracy theories, but shorter. I made a pie chart of the previous poll and asked opinions about the Notre Dame cathedral fire. I was surprised to not get any message explaining why, or having the poll sent back to drafts. Just rejected, right away. ?
      But it’s okay, I moved on.

      1

    • Indeed. After all, it was just a poll that was connected to another poll about conspiracy theories, and I have to make another soon. I still have to choose what to focus on first: healthcare, viruses and vaccines, or conspiracies that involve aliens, the flat earth and the moon landing. ?
      But I didn’t bother asking why, I was busy with another poll that was approved. I don’t remember which one it was. It’s been a while.
      I thought rejected posts would have totally disappeared, but if your post was rejected and then put back into drafts, it works differently.

      1

  2. Based on what I learned in school, life begins upon conception and life is a gift from God and we don’t have the right to end the life of anybody or even our own life.

    1

    • That’s true, abortion means ending a life, but there are cases where abortion saves lives, and things get complicated. Thanks for sharing your opinion! ?

    • Thanks! Yes, abortion is just heartbreaking, but there can be few cases where one has to ponder, like when a pregnancy can cost a woman’s life. ?

  4. Well, I would personally say I would prefer people not to have to go through abortions and give life
    However, there are always exceptions and a person’s circumstances are different
    I won’t go through the exceptions, except in the end it should be the choice of the pregnant woman.
    Yet, I cant help thinking there are so many women who cant get their own biological children. It is so hard to adopt children if you want them and cant have them. Well, in New Zealand.
    It’s a complicated subject.
    There are some in New Zealand who get pregnant without marrying so they can get money from the govt. Some of those abuse their children, we have had children die because the families put them through tumble dryers and awful abuse.
    There should be a law against them from keeping children but they won’t do it.

    1

    • True. Abortion is very distressing and can’t be taken lightly but, at the same time, all children have the right to a peaceful dignified life.
      I guess the world is about the same wherever you go, we have similar issues, in Italy, when it comes to adoptions. You must have a high income, a certain age and go through a lot of bureaucracy. And I’m pretty sure we have those who make children just to exploit the welfare, very saddening. ?

      1

      • Yes, you are right, I agree with you here.
        Yes, I think it should be a woman’s right to choose for herself but at the same time, she should really think about it.

        1

    • Thank you! I know, it’s pointless to discuss about this matter, my intention was to give some info and I’m glad you found the topic to be interesting. ?
      It would be a very tough decision to take, for sure.

  6. I guess if you’re not going to be involved in the “consequence” after the birth then you shouldn’t be able to decide … :p

    1

    • It really is. I think there’s no correct answer, but it was interesting to know more about what happens in the womb. I had no clue brain activity began so early.
      I respect your choice to not comment, take care. ?

  8. I think that this is absolutely a matter of the decision of the people involved in this … not the decision of society

    1

  9. This is a very difficult topic to discuss. I believe that this decision is between the people involved and isn’t a topic that should be open to society deciding.

    2