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Life. Liberty. The pursuit of happiness. These human rights are considered unalienable in the eyes of conservatives and liberals alike. If, as the Declaration of Independence claims, it is the role of the government to secure these rights for its citizens, then laws should be written to that end.
Of these rights, it is reasonable to argue that the right to life is paramount. After all, if one does not have life, then discussion of all other rights becomes frivolous as they are of no use to the dead. Therefore, it stands to reason on the basis that all human lives are of equal value, that it is immoral for one human to deprive another of the right to life unless it has been forfeit by the actions of the latter.
If this is the case, then the primary question pertaining to abortion is whether an unborn child, from zygote to birth, is to be considered a unique human life with its own rights. If it is, then all claims of necessity, short of threatening the life of the mother, would be subservient to the right of the child to life itself. If it is not, then the moment at which it becomes a human life must be defined and laws must be passed to protect its rights from that moment on.
The biological criteria for life is generally consistent. All single-celled organisms are considered life in a biological sense, so even a zygote would be considered some form of life. The next determination is whether it is human. Taxonomy, which is increasingly driven by genetics, defines a human as a member of the species homo sapiens. This means that a zygote containing complete human DNA could not be taxonomically considered anything other than human.
Thus we see that even as early in development as being a single-celled zygote, it is human life. The final distinction to be made is between that particular cell and any other human cell in the mother’s body. Said distinction is found in the DNA of the zygote. Though genetic testing would certainly show a maternal relationship between the woman and the cell, the new DNA would be unique. This DNA would include genetic information determining the child’s own height, eye color, hair color, skin color, and blood type, among other attributes.
Having defined the zygote as a unique human life, it can be assumed that it will remain a unique human life throughout its fetal development and beyond birth. It is therefore the responsibility of the government to protect that life from undue harm and guarantee its rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Such action would include outlawing abortion, excepting cases where the life of the mother is threatened and no other medical aid could save both the lives of the mother and the child.
Of these rights, it is reasonable to argue that the right to life is paramount. After all, if one does not have life, then discussion of all other rights becomes frivolous as they are of no use to the dead. Therefore, it stands to reason on the basis that all human lives are of equal value, that it is immoral for one human to deprive another of the right to life unless it has been forfeit by the actions of the latter.
If this is the case, then the primary question pertaining to abortion is whether an unborn child, from zygote to birth, is to be considered a unique human life with its own rights. If it is, then all claims of necessity, short of threatening the life of the mother, would be subservient to the right of the child to life itself. If it is not, then the moment at which it becomes a human life must be defined and laws must be passed to protect its rights from that moment on.
The biological criteria for life is generally consistent. All single-celled organisms are considered life in a biological sense, so even a zygote would be considered some form of life. The next determination is whether it is human. Taxonomy, which is increasingly driven by genetics, defines a human as a member of the species homo sapiens. This means that a zygote containing complete human DNA could not be taxonomically considered anything other than human.
Thus we see that even as early in development as being a single-celled zygote, it is human life. The final distinction to be made is between that particular cell and any other human cell in the mother’s body. Said distinction is found in the DNA of the zygote. Though genetic testing would certainly show a maternal relationship between the woman and the cell, the new DNA would be unique. This DNA would include genetic information determining the child’s own height, eye color, hair color, skin color, and blood type, among other attributes.
Having defined the zygote as a unique human life, it can be assumed that it will remain a unique human life throughout its fetal development and beyond birth. It is therefore the responsibility of the government to protect that life from undue harm and guarantee its rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Such action would include outlawing abortion, excepting cases where the life of the mother is threatened and no other medical aid could save both the lives of the mother and the child.