Every pro-lifer should see this
show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://health.discovery.com/tvlistin...=0&channel=DHC
There is a significant abortion-related aspect to the "chimerism"
phenomenon that is not discussed in that show, and so I will
discuss it here. First note that chimerism is known to happen at
least two different ways. (1) A blastocyst (cluster of cells perhaps
a few days after fertilization) splits, which normally yields
identical twins, or even conjoined (Siamese) twins, but during
chimerism the the two independent clusters merge back
together to form a single cluster again. This sort of chimera can
be difficult to detect, because the overall genetics is so similar
(despite differences that inevitably start happening while the
clusters are separate). (2) Two blastocysts from separate
egg-fertilizations (fraternal twins) merge together; they may be
of the same sex or of opposite sexes (and their fusion can cause
hermaphroditism). This sort of chimerism can give
"type"-matching geneticists fits; the blood, for example, may
have resulted from one of the merged cell-clusters, while the
heart may have resulted from the other -- so trying to
tissue-match the heart for a transplant, based on blood work,
can be fatal. The "I Am My Own Twin" documentary, linked
above, describes a case where one woman almost had her
children taken away because the genes in her blood didn't
match the genes in her reproductive system.
With that background information, consider that the extreme
pro-life stand is that every fertilized human egg, and the
organism that results from it, should be counted as a person
(so if there are two of them, there are two persons). Well, when
chimerism happens, both clusters of cells CONTINUE TO EXIST
HEALTHILY. No aspect of their "independent" lives-as-organisms
is lost when chimerism happens, EXCEPT they have traded their
independent existence for symbiosis. A chimera is the ultimate
case of a conjoined twin.
Well, conjoined twins are usually counted as two persons, right?
Therefore, shouldn't every chimeric human be counted as two
persons, and be given two votes? That **IS** the logical conclusion
of insisting that two human organisms, both still fully alive, even
if existing symbiotically instead of independently, equate to two
persons, isn't it? IF IT IS NOT LOGICAL, THEN THAT CAN ONLY
BE BECAUSE THERE IS SOMETHING FUNDAMENTALLY WRONG
WITH EQUATING AN ORGANISM-COUNT TO A PERSON-COUNT.
That is, **MINDS** are persons, not organisms/bodies. This
conclusion matches other data, such as the cases where one twin
of a conjoined pair is incomplete (no head, so no second mind,
so no second person). And it matches the data about brain-dead
humans on life-support, regarding which various Courts have
determined it is acceptable to "pull the plug", because
THE PERSON, THE MIND is gone, even if the empty human
animal body remains alive.
The relevance of the preceding logic about persons, to the
abortion issue, should now be clear. Unborn humans are all
"empty human animal organisms/bodies", and not persons.
Even in late pregnancy, when various mind-associated
characteristics begin to appear, these characteristics are al
only animal-level (no fetus can be smarter than an adult cow,
due to having less brain than an adult cow; see the brain-size
facts for yourself: http://staff.washington.edu/chudler/facts.html ).
Humans do not grow enough brain to support person-level
mentation until well after birth. In fact, some aspects of
person-class mentation are known to require up to three years
of brain growth; see
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?cha...7E83414B7F0000
That is, the scientific data clearly tells us that there is a
"gray area" where every young human animal grows into a
human person, but this gray area is not entered until some
time after birth occurs. And therefore even late-term abortions
cannot possibly involve the killing of human persons; it always
and only involves the killing of empty human animal bodies.
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