LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

I just visited a blog at which the author claims to embrace "liberalism."

The writer seems to be a very nice person with a good sense of humor and good writing skills.

In fact, there is little to evidence "liberalism" in the traditional sense of the word, except unexplained references to abortion and homosexuals.

My own position on abortion has been made clear on this blog in the past, but I will synopsize it for this discussion.

The Declaration of Independence proclaims that God (their Creator) has given (endowed) us "...certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

The right to life was one of the fundamental reasons Thomas Jefferson felt we should no longer be subject to government rule.

To be sure, TJ was referencing the taking of life without due process, a practice of Great Britain at the time.

His idea was that government should be subjected to the people, not the people to the government.

Life, being an unalienable right, needs definition.

Science comes to our rescue by defining life as that which (among other things) multiplies and/or grows, takes on nourishment, gives off waste, reacts to stimuli, etc.

The first thing that happens when human sperm enters a human egg is that it forms a life-form called scientifically, a zygote.

(I have never heard a doctor tell a woman that she is "with zygote," rather, "with child" (in the archaic, that is.)

The zygote exhibits all of the characteristics of life mentioned above.

Via its DNA, it is also distinguishable from every other life-form: chimpanzees; snakes; plants; viruses, etc. .

About 3 days after conception, the zygote consists of 16 cells and is called "a 16 cell morula" (a.k.a. pre-embryo).

Five days or so after conception, a cavity appears in the center of the morula. The grouping of cells are now called a blastocyst. It has an inner group of cells which will become the fetus and later the newborn; it has an outer shell of cells which will "become the membranes that nourish and protect the inner group of cells."

By 12 days or so after conception, the blastocyst has started to produce hormones which can be detected in the woman's urine. She can now confirm pregnancy via a medically appropriate pregnancy test.

Thirteen or fourteen days after conception a "primitive streak" appears. It will later develop into the fetus' central nervous system. The morula is now an embryo.

The woman can now confirm pregnancy with a home pregnancy test.

The embryo's heart begins to beat about 18 to 21 days after conception.

Enough biology...for now.

From this point on, the woman and her "significant other" (hopefully her husband) will NEVER refer to "our embryo," but to "our baby."

The baby is a person with personality.

Some are active, others more placid.

Most react to loud noises, some to music (differently, by the way, to different types of music), to heat, cold and other stimuli.

Soon, a sonogram will reveal the baby's features...and with full-color, 3-D sonograms, his or her skin-tone, unique markings, and much more.

The baby floats like an astronaut in a fluid inside of a very special environment.

He/she is tethered to the mother by an umbilical cord, which allows certain things, like nourishment to get to the baby.

The same cord allows other substances to be carried away from the baby...waste, toxins, etc.

By biological miracle, the two types of substances never mix! It's like magic...only magic has nothing to do with it.

In my humble, but correct, opinion, that baby has a right to life. Period.

There is no room in my open mindedness for discussion about that.

It is an unalienable right to life conferred upon it by its Creator, not by courts, governments, doctors or other individuals, including the mother.

When I was in the eighth grade, my mother was pregnant with my third sister when it became evident that things had gone terribly wrong. The baby's bio-chemical processes became imbalanced and the resulting toxins threatened to take her life, as well as the life of my mother.

With much sadness, the baby was aborted. My mother had three other children to care for, and the choice, though incredibly difficult, had to be made in their favor.

My mother died a few years ago at age 89. But before she died I had a conversation with her about our family, reminding her of how much she was loved by her three children. "Four," she quickly corrected.

That hit me right between the eyes.

As a family we had rarely spoken of our lost sister, but after all of those years, the fourth child, her daughter, was still a part of my mother's psyche.

Listen to me, people...the decision to abort a child is NEVER an isolated historical event, but perseveres in one form or another for eternity.

As a conservative, the right to life, from conception to biological death is a sacred tenet to me.

Having read all of the "liberals'" arguments about a woman's so-called "choice to do with her own body as she wishes," I have found them every one to be shallow and self-centered...something no self-respecting liberal (or human being) should ever be.