When I began writing an ebook on abortion, I found myself
"eyeball to eyeball" with the fertile egg. Initially, I
considered this "a detour" from where I wanted to go. But,
with man's invasion into its domain, and because it is the
beginning of the human life line, I soon realized the
abortion argument actually does begin with the fertile egg.
Even though I've been a pro life advocate for decades, I
never really thought much on the fertile egg. I've known
what it is from biology, organic chemistry, and genetics
classes, but I never really stopped to think about - what
it really is. So, what is it?
For starters, the fertile egg is the result of a successful
merging of an egg and sperm cell. But, there is something
quite astounding about this union. The sperm cell, left to
itself, it is incapable of growing into anything else. So
also, the egg cell. As solitary cells, they soon expire.
But, once merged, they burst into a phenomenally complex
life form. And that complex life form is already
genetically complete inside that single fertile egg. With
nourishment and time, each fertile egg will become a unique
adult - 100% of the time. It seems more than the sum of
its parts.
Some have called the human fertile egg, "potential human
life." Scientifically, this is an untenable statement. It
is not "potential human life" - it is human life. It is
nothing else and it cannot become anything else. The
fertile human egg is simply, and only, the earliest stage
of human life.
But there is something even more basic about a fertile egg.
It is living matter. This may sound like a stupid
observation, but it is actually quite significant. Many
things are not alive. Most of the matter on our planet is
not alive. Indeed, the rest of the universe may have no
living matter. If all living matter was weighed against
the nonliving matter, it would not amount to a speck of
dust on the cosmic weighing scale. A fertile egg is an
exceedingly rare piece of living matter in a universe
dominated by inorganic matter.
The "Life Element"
The human body is composed of twenty-eight elements. None
are alive. None of them even hint at being alive. Carbon
is not alive. Iron is not alive. Lead is not alive.
Calcium is not alive. Arsenic is not alive. None of the
other twenty-three elements that make up our body are alive
either. But, it is error to say these elements are dead -
as that injects the thought that life is in some way
connected with them. Organic chemistry is itself composed
of elements that are, in and of themselves, inorganic.
Life, whatever it is, is alien to every element. How any
combination of non-living elements is alive ... is a total
mystery. When present, the "life element" is obviously
there - but, it continues to elude the scientist's grasp.
If the fertile egg does not contain all of these
twenty-eight elements, then this "life element" is all the
more remarkable. It attracts the missing elements at the
appropriate times, and in the appropriate quantities, in
the construction of the body. It is "feeding" on the
inorganics around it. But, too much lead, iron or arsenic
will result in the "life element" vacating the matter in
which it resides - as will too little of these elements.
This is too astounding to comprehend.
But, is it "a person?"
With that question, we have now entered ... the abortion
argument. Is the fertile egg, "a person?" There are three
perspectives from which to examine this question -
Naturalism, Theism and Humanism. But, I have decided to
introduce 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.
A clock turned on the instant you became a fertile egg.
With time and nourishment, you will turn into a unique
adult - 100% of the time. Come to think of it ... that is
exactly what you did. Now, at some point in your
development, some adults decided to bestow upon you the
title of "person" or "being." Of course, the instant you
were crowned as such, nothing physically changed. And, had
this apposition been withheld, well, that would not have
changed anything either. Actually, this title has no
physical impact - one way or the other. So, what is this
title? Well, it is ... a word. It is a metaphysical,
subjective concept based upon nothing but the thin air
between the ears of the adult humans bestowing it. One
proof that "being" is based upon nothing, lies in the fact
that the credentialing adults do not agree on what it is,
what it means ... or when it starts. It is bestowed at all
kinds of arbitrary points along the life-line. Some wait
until a few weeks in, some a few months, and some do not
grant this magical designation until air can be breathed.
"Being" can be summed up in one word - "opinion." O
fertile egg, this opinion has no effect on the physical
reality of your one-way march into unique adulthood.
The Naturalist ... and "Being"
For the Naturalist (atheistic evolutionist), the question
of "being" is as ridiculous as it is irrelevant. It is an
attempt to separate humans from simply being an animal. I
know of no one who examines other species and wonders when
they reach "dog-hood" or "cow-hood." This "being" query is
immediately, and forever, rejected.
Also, from the Naturalist's viewpoint, deliberate
interference in the progress of a fertile egg is the
activity of fools. All life forms are in a continuous,
ferocious struggle for survival. Since profitable
mutations arise randomly, each fertile egg is Evolution's
jewel until it proves itself otherwise. Any one may
contain the needed adaptation(s) for that life line to
continue. Each fertile egg is the future of any species.
The Biblical Theist ... and "Being"
For the Biblical Theist, this personhood concept is also
irrelevant. Since God "Himself gives to all life" (Acts
17:25), if the "being" designation is one He concerns
Himself with, well, that is a transaction between Himself
and that life. Everyone else is outside the loop.
Also, from a Biblical viewpoint, assaulting a fertile egg
is beyond being a fool. It is insanity. "The hearts of
the sons of men are full of evil, and insanity is in their
hearts throughout their lives" (Eccl 9:3). God, "the Lord
... makes alive" (1Sam 2:6), and the stronger among us are
given a special charge for protecting the weaker. Assaults
upon "innocent human life" at any point along its lifeline
... well, you do the math.
The Humanist ... and "Being"
For the Humanist, this personhood issue is of great
importance. By withholding this designation, the
"non-being" is relegated to a blob of protoplasm. It
depends on which Humanist you are talking with as to when
"being" arrives. For some, it is when the umbilical cord
is cut. For others, being "wanted" by one or more of the
parents, earns "personhood" - while still in the womb.
Other Humanists talk in terms of trimesters - so, it
depends upon which Humanist you are talking with as to what
opinion you will hear on the "being" issue. But all
Humanists do agree on one point. Before the moment when
"being" is reached, anyone can do anything he/she wants
with this subhuman blob of protoplasm.
A Word To - "Mom"
Mom, if you search every mountaintop, every ocean bottom,
every cave on earth - and even scour the nest of every
living thing - in all of nature, you will not find even one
human egg. If you look into a clear night sky, that vast
universe (of which you are seeing the tiniest fraction)
does not have ... one human egg. If humanity is valuable,
there is only one place it originates - in you. Through
you comes the world's leaders, artists, inventors, doctors,
teachers, thinkers ... and no one knows who will come from
any particular womb. Many of the world's greatest citizens
have arisen from the most humble of circumstances. Our
future develops in your womb. You are humanity's
gatekeeper.
Conclusion
Each fertile egg is a one-of-a-kind entity in all of past
reality, present reality, and future reality. Each is
genetically complete, astoundingly unique and beyond
replication. Also, it is an exceedingly rare piece of
living matter. It contains genetic "triggers" that engage
at the proper times so the correct elements, in proper
proportions, are corralled for the construction that unique
adult. The fertile egg of the human - is the most
sophisticated physical entity in the known universe. No
matter rivals it. Scientifically, I have only scratched
the surface in describing the physical reality of one
fertile egg. The abortion debate begins here. I now stand
in awe of the fertile egg ... and its Creator.
----------------------------------------------------
This article is an excerpt from Robin's ebook, "Abortion:
How Abortion Resides in the Weakest Form of Human Thought"
at http://www.freelygive-n.com/Abortion_Argument.html .
Other ebooks: "Capital Punishment and the Bible" "No Tithe
for the Christian," "Love and the Bible," and "Death and
the Bible". ALL ARE FREE! Robin became a Christian in 1977.
Educationally: BA, Bus Admin (Milligan College '90) and M-
Div (Emmanuel School of Relign '92).
