Why Abortion Is Not Murder…

I’ve often wondered why abortion is not murder. I’ve been pro-choice for as long as I can recall but to be honest it’s always bothered me that so many pro-choice people seem to completely ignore the implication that abortion is murder. I mean it seems pretty clear that if there is human life and you end it, it’s murder. Or, at the very least, it is in fact a killing of a human being. There is a difference between killing and murder. One has a defense and the other does not.

This is the key issue for me. How can we justify the taking of that unborn life? Personally, it’s not so much that I justified it as an okay thing to do. I didn’t. I don’t think it’s an okay thing to do. I think it’s a shitty thing to do. However, I just don’t feel we have the right to tell anyone what they can do with their bodies in most cases. I feel the health and well being of women is more important than an embryo.

As it turns out, I have worried about this issue for far too long because as it turns out, it’s not really issue at all. Contrary to what I have been told by the religious right and the pro-life community it is not murder. I did a little research and it turns out those embryo’s aren’t “alive” in the sense we’ve told to believe they are. And, by alive, I mean human life.

First, an embryo isn’t an embryo at conception, it’s called a zygote. It won’t be an embryo for about 4 days. At this point it’s just some cells that have begun to divide. It is not a baby. It’s not human life.

Second, an embryo is not a baby or a fetus. It can’t survive outside of the womb. It’s body hasn’t fully formed and won’t until about week 9. It’s not human life.

Third, you can’t have murder without consciousness. Consciousness, doesn’t just happen. It happens over time. We can’t know for sure the moment it does happen but we can say to some certain when it has not.

That is the key issue. If something has no consciousness then it’s not human life. I think this is where we need study. Whether or not abortion should be illegal shouldn’t ever be a debate. It should be a matter of medical certainty. Philosophy and religion should play no part in the issue. Philosophy and religion are for debates as to whether a person should get an abortion or not. Not whether or not it is a murder. They can debate their opinions all they want However, when it comes to whether or not an abortion is murder, the only thing that matters are the facts and until that fetus has significantly developed a brain and nervous system enough to support consciousness then it can not be considered murder.

Defining consciousness.

Consciousness is defined as the state of being awake and aware of one’s surroundings. Now I can hear you thinking, “Well, if consciousness is all that is needed to be considered alive then why is killing someone in their sleep or in a coma considered murder. Good question. Because, that person was conscious prior to falling asleep or being in a coma and when they wake or come out of that coma they will regain their consciousness. A fetus, isn’t just taking a break from it’s consciousness. A fetus doesn’t have consciuousness and then over time it begins to develop. Usually consciousness develops between the 24th and 28th week of gestation. This is one reason why the cutoff to get an abortion is usually around 24 weeks unless the women’s health is an issue.

I understand why the pro-life people are against abortions. If you’ve been told a lie that life begins at conception you’re going to naturally believe that abortion is murder. However, this is a lie and anyone spreading it is either uninformed or intentionally lying to you and is almost certainly trying to sell you something.

I also understand how the pro-life crowd can feel that a fetus is human life. When you see photos of a fetus and it appears to have all it’s body parts it’s easy to make the leap that is in fact a human life when it simply isn’t until sometime after the 24th week of gestation.

Yet, because I understand many of the reasons these people believe abortion is murder, the simple truth of the matter is that they are just terribly misinformed. Misinformed by religious leaders they should be able to trust and by politicians that are just as uninformed or trying to push an agenda or pander to voters. Both trying to spread an agenda that is not based on the facts of the issue. And, if you honestly think about it, shouldn’t the determination of what is and what is not murder be made by doctors and scientists who have studied the medically related facts instead of the religious and political leaders who are doing nothing more than just voicing their opinions?

As I said earlier, uninformed opinions have no place in determining what is and what is not murder. If someone wants to believe abortion is murder contrary to the facts, that’s sadly their right to do so. What isn’t and should never be someone’s right to do, is to force their uninformed opinions on to others.

I say this a lot and I mean it. Don’t take my word for the things I say here. I’m just some guy on the internet with a blog.  I want you to research this stuff. Sure can take my word for it want to but I can make mistakes. What I can promise you is that I always try to base my opinions on facts. Real facts, supported by evidence. I don’t every try to mislead anyone in my articles. I research a topic and then I write about it. I don’t ignore the evidence I find. That being said, if an issue important to you then do the research. Sure reading opinions may give you a different insight into an issue but it can also fill your head with bullshit. So take articles like these with a grain of salt.

Below I’ve linked to some sites that I used in the research of this article. There were many articles that I read besides the ones below, some by sites I respect like the Huffington Post and Patheos to name a few but I found them to either completely miss the point of the issue or just too wordy and filled with needless exposition.

Research used in the writing of the article.

Why Abortion isn’t Murder
What is the difference between a zygote, embryo and foetus?
Fetal development
How late in a pregnancy can you get an abortion?
When Does Consciousness Arise in Human Babies?