The abortion argument begins... where? Does it start with the embryo, the first heartbeat, the first brain wave, the beginning of the third trimester... or the fertile egg? Or should abortion be discussed at all - since this whole debate is a matter of privacy rights and is within the full jurisdiction of each individual woman?
Where does the abortion argument begin? If one intends to write an e-book on this topic, one must decide about it. When I decided to consider the abortion argument (as a pro-lifer), I immediately found myself eye to eye with a fertile egg. Even though I knew what it was from all my science classes, it had been a decade since I stopped – to actually look at it. And now that one has invaded the domain of the fertile egg (in laboratories or in the womb), it is necessary to determine what it really is. So what is it?
For starters, a fertilized egg is the result of the successful fusion of an egg cell and a sperm cell. But there is something quite stunning about this connection. A sperm that is left to itself is incapable of growing into anything else. So is the egg cell. Like solitary cells, they will soon disappear. But once they come together, surprisingly they are still one cell - and immediately the "clock" goes on - and division and growth explodes in a very systematic way. These two cells, now one, burst into a phenomenally complex life form. And this complex life form is already genetically complete inside this single fertile egg cell. With time, nutrition, and the absence of death, each fertile egg will become a unique adult - 100% of the time. All this from two obscure ... power plants.
Some have called the human fertile egg a "potential human life". From a scientific point of view, this is an untenable claim. It is not "potential human life" - it is human life. It is nothing else and nothing else can happen. A fertile human egg is simply and only the earliest stage of human life.
But there is something more fundamental about the fertile egg. It is living matter. This may sound like a silly observation, but it's actually quite significant. Many things are not alive. Most of the matter on our planet is not alive. In fact, the rest of the universe may not have any living matter. If all living matter were weighed with non-living matter, it would not equal a grain of dust on the cosmic scale. A fertile egg is an extremely rare piece of living matter in a universe dominated by inorganic matter.
"Element of life"
The human body is made up of twenty-eight elements. Nobody is alive. None of them even hint that they are alive. Carbon is not alive. Iron is not alive. Lead is not alive. Calcium is not alive. Arsenic is not alive. The other twenty-three elements are also inanimate. However, it is a mistake to say that these elements are dead - because it introduces the idea that life is somehow connected with them. In fact, all elements of organic chemistry are themselves - inorganic. Life, whatever it is, is foreign to every element. How any combination of inanimate elements is alive... is a complete mystery. If present, the "life element" is clearly there - but still eluding scientists.
If the fertile egg does not contain all these twenty-eight elements, then this "life element" is all the more remarkable. It attracts the missing elements at the right times and in the right amount to the body structure. It "feeds" on the inorganic substances around it. But too much lead, iron, or arsenic will cause the "element of life" to leave the matter in which it resides—as will too little of these elements. All this is beyond comprehension.
But is it a "person?"
With this question, we have now entered... the abortion argument. Is a fertilized egg a "person?" There are three perspectives from which to examine this question—naturalism, theism, and humanism. However, I decided to present a fourth view. And I want to start there - now ... with you. I want you to put yourself in the shoes of... a fertile egg. You are now a fertile egg.
The clock turned on the moment you became a fertile egg. With time and nutrition, you will transform into a unique adult - 100% of the time. Think about it... that's exactly what you did. Now, at some point in your development, some adults have decided to give you the title of "person" or "being." Of course, the moment you were crowned as such, nothing physically changed. And if this opposition were rejected, it would not change anything either. In reality, this title has no physical impact – one way or another. So, what is this title? Well, that's... a word. It's a metaphysical, subjective concept based on nothing more than the thin air between the ears of grown-ups who lend it. One proof that "being" is based on nothing lies in the fact that credentialed adults don't agree on what it is, what it means...or when it begins. For this coronation, arbitrary points are selected along the entire lifeline. Some wait in a few weeks, some in a few months, and some don't grant this magical designation until they can breathe air. "Being" can be summed up in one word - "opinion". O fertile egg, this opinion has no bearing on the physical reality of your one-way march into unique adulthood.
Naturalist ... and "being"
For the Naturalist (atheistic evolutionist) the question of "being" is as ridiculous as it is irrelevant. It is a futile attempt to make people - more than animals. No one is ever surprised when cows or dogs reach the "hood" or "hood." This "essential" query is immediately and forever rejected.
From the Naturalist's point of view, deliberately interfering with the development of a fertile egg is also the activity of fools. All life forms are in a constant, furious struggle for survival. Because beneficial mutations arise randomly, each fertile egg is a jewel of evolution until proven otherwise. Either may contain the necessary modification(s) to continue that lifeline. Every fertile egg is the future of any species.
The Biblical Theist ... and "Being"
For the biblical theist, this concept of personhood is also irrelevant. Since God "himself gives life to all things" (Acts 17:25), if the designation "being" is involved, it is a transaction between him and this life. No one else is inside that loop.
Also, from a biblical point of view, attacking a fertile egg is beyond folly. It's madness. "The hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts all their days" (Ecclesiastes 9:3). God, "the Lord... quickens" (1Sam 2:6) and the stronger among us have a special duty to protect the weaker. Attacks on "innocent human life" at any point in his lifeline... well, do the math.
Humanist ... and "Being"
For a humanist, this question of personality is very important. By denying this designation, "non-being" is relegated to the debris of protoplasm. It depends on which humanist you talk to when "being" comes. For some, it is the cutting of the umbilical cord. For others, when they are "wanted" by one or more parents, they acquire a "personality" - while still in the womb. Other humanists talk in terms of trimesters - so it depends on which humanist you talk to what opinion you hear on the question of "being". But all humanists agree on one point. Before the moment "being" is achieved, anyone can do whatever they want with this subhuman blob of protoplasm.
Word for - "mom"
Mother, if you search every mountain top, every ocean floor, every cave on earth - and even search the nest of every living creature - in all nature, you will not find a single human egg. If you look at the clear night sky, that vast universe (of which you can see the tiniest fraction) does not have... a single human egg. If humanity is valuable, there is only one place it comes from—within you. Through you come all the world's thinkers, inventors, artists and leaders ... and no one knows who will emerge from a particular womb. Many of the world's greatest citizens have come from the humblest of circumstances. Our future is developing in your womb. You are the gatekeeper of humanity.
Conclusion
Each fertile egg is a unique entity in all past reality, present reality, and future reality. Each one is genetically unique... and completely complete. Moreover, as living matter, it is an extremely rare thing. It contains genetic "triggers" that engage at the right time so that the right elements in the right proportions are corralled to build that unique adult. The human fertile egg is the most sophisticated physical entity in the known universe. Regardless of the opponent. Scientifically, I have only scratched the surface in describing the physical reality of a single fertile egg. This is where the abortion debate begins. Now I stand in awe of the fertile egg... and its Creator.
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