When Does Life Begin?

From a scientific standpoint, life in our universe began with the Big Bang. The life of every human, every animal, everything we see is traced back to that explosion. All life in our universe began then.

Likewise life doesn’t start at fertilization. A human zygote requires live sperm and a live ovum. Ova are interesting because they are alive before their mothers are born. The ova that created each and every one of us were alive before our mothers were born.

But just because something is alive should it have the rights if a citizen? The zygote, soon to be an embryo, is no more alive than the sperm and ovum that created it.

The only reason the GOP wants to define life starting at fertilization is because otherwise under their logic, their sperm would have the rights of citizens. As citizens, sperm would be protected by amendments such as the one proposed by Senator Constance Johnson which states “any action in which a man ejaculates or otherwise deposits semen anywhere but in a woman’s vagina shall be interpreted and construed as an action against an unborn child”.

But seriously, when should human life obtain citizenship? The US Citizenship and Immigration Services website highlights the Rights and Responsibilities of US Citizenship:

Rights: Freedom to express yourself, Freedom to worship as you wish, Right to a prompt, fair trial by jury, Right to vote in elections for public officials, Right to apply for federal employment requiring U.S. citizenship, Right to run for elected office. Freedom to pursue “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Responsibilities: Support and defend the Constitution, Stay informed of the issues affecting your community, Participate in the democratic process, Respect and obey federal, state, and local laws, Respect the rights, beliefs, and opinions of others, Participate in your local community, Pay income and other taxes honestly, and on time, to federal, state, and local authorities and Serve on a jury when called upon.

Does the GOP really believe the unborn can do this? And yet the GOP feels the unborn have more rights than their mothers. Does this make any sense? What comes next? Will the GOP decide pregnant women should be “housed” separately to insure they are taking care of their bodies?

Our kidneys are human. Using the dna from our kidneys, a human could be cloned. Should our kidneys have the same rights or more civil rights than we do? Until the fetus can live outside the womb it is parasitic in that it only lives because it feeds off its mother. Republicans say the mother is less a citizen than the being reliant on her for life.

Let’s not make a mockery of our citizenship! The Republicans say they will use the 14th amendment to protect the rights of the unborn yet the 14th amendment specifically addresses “persons born or naturalized” in the United States. Nowhere if the 14th amendment does it say anything about the rights of the unborn superseding the rights of the mother.

Every woman must have the freedom to decide when she wants sex and when she wants children, otherwise she is not a free woman. Let’s not bring our great country back to the middle ages. Let women share the same equalities as men!

If life is so sacred how can war be justified? If life is so sacred why do we let people in our own country starve? If life is so sacred how can we justify killing animals for sport or for food?

Let’s not be hypocritical! Life is either sacred or it is not! Life cannot just be sacred in the womb!