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From: holmes@dalcs.UUCP (Ray Holmes)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Abortion
Message-ID: <703@dalcs.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 27-Feb-84 02:14:39 EST
Article-I.D.: dalcs.703
Posted: Mon Feb 27 02:14:39 1984
Date-Received: Mon, 27-Feb-84 08:54:36 EST
References: <5814@decwrl.UUCP>
Organization: Dalhousie U, Halifax N.S.
Lines: 46

[]
	squirt!arndt says:

>   It just seems to me to be a self evident proposition that human life
>   begins at conception and ends with death.  Even those first few cells 
>   ARE human and ARE life.  That is, they are not a group of dog or cat
>   cells and they are not non-living.  (Please note that I am NOT addressing
>   or appealing to any concept of "soul" or "quality of that life" used
>   to define what is or is not HUMAN.)  We may CALL those cells anything
>   we wish, fetus, blob, baby, it, or whatever - but the above status
>   ("human life") remains true.  

>   Correct me if I am wrong, but abortion STOPS (is Kills too strong?) that
>   life.  It then becomes DEAD, RIGHT?

Right on -- it is human and it is life and it did start from a few cells,
but did it start from those few cells, or perhaps from some earlier cells?
Does it end at STOPPING (or you seen to prefer death)?  

I am agast! I'm surrounded with death -- my hair, my skin, my brain cells,
even an occasional tooth -- gasp! my mother had a tumor STOPPED (is Killed
too strong?)  (please note that I am NOT addressing or appealing to any
concept of "soul" or "quality of life" use to determine what is or is not
HUMAN.)

I could go on (and on) but back to squirt!armdt:

>   To restate a little if I may, it seems to me that human life is a continuum
>   from conception to death.  I have never heard, I think, an argument FOR
>   abortion that has been consistantly applied to ALL (as it seems it must
>   be to remain logical) human life along the continuum.

One thread did you say? My feable recolections of biology say that cells
divide, and divide again; a very fuzzy continuum I must say! I must agree
with you however: I also have never heard, I think, an argument FOR any
surgery that has been consistantly applied to ALL (is it realy logical, or
are souls realy involved here) human life (collections of cells) along
the fuzzy continuum.

					Ray

P.S.	I left out your example as I couldn't understand it.

P.P.S.	Please forgive the unorganized approach as I am composing this on
	the fly because I'm MAD.