The abortion conundrum

During what period is the termination of a pregnancy acceptable? Up to 24 weeks seems to be the agreed cut-off point based on some dodgy logic. The reasoning is that while the fetus is dependent on the mother’s womb for survival and could not even live in a humidicrib, then it is hers to do with as she wishes.

In seeking an answer I ask myself - in what essential way do I differ from my dog? Over 90 per cent of our DNA is identical. Our very different appearance is due to less than 10 per cent of the shared DNA blueprint while over 90 per cent of that blueprint is required to give us the same internal systems. As we are so physically close, I accept that the essential difference is that I think like a human and he does not.

This definition raises the problem that it is maybe three years before an infant thinks like a human i.e. uses rational thought, rather than simply reacting as if to a built-in program, and begins to build-up a memory bank that he or she can deliberately delve into later on in life. None of us would claim that a new-born baby was not human. It would never be aceceptable to pro-choice people that a new-born baby could be put down if the mother, who could not get access to an abortionist during her pregnancy, still did not want the child. So the “thinking-like-a-human” definition won’t do.

I’ll try another tack. How far back into the womb would the pro-choice advocate have to go to determine actual humanness as opposed to potential humanness? You could perhaps say that it was the time when the mother felt love for her fetus.

The love connection seems to be a valid criterion. A natural abortion can be an emotionally shattering experience for the expectant mother - and most parents immediately upon seeing their new-born baby would rather die themselves if it meant that the baby survives. But what of a severely mentally retarded mother who was not aware that a baby was growing inside her? Nobody would claim that her newborn baby was less of a human than that born to a normal woman. So - the “time-of-loving” definition falls down too.

Debating the issue seems pointless. The conclusion is that a deliberate abortion is not murder - but it should be seen as a personal tragedy. To maintain the gap between the scary American situation and our own, our public school education must emphasise both the personal tragedy and the danger of faith-driven pro-life thinking.