When does life begin?

George Verwer sent me a very good book earlier, "WHY PRO-LIFE?", written by Randy Alcorn.


Philosopher Mortimer Adler claimed that the unborn is " a part of the mother's body, in the same sense that an individual's arm or leg is a part of the living organism. An individual's decision to have an arm or a leg amputated falls within the sphere of privacy - the freedom to do as one pleases in all matters that do not injure others or the public welfare." 1,2

Evidence shows us that when a life is formed inside the womb, a new set of genetic code take place. A new set of genetic code that forms a total different being from the womb that is carrying the life.

The question is: When does life begin?

We should never deny that having a baby could be so hard for some people. It could be for medical reasons that one could not have children, it could be no medical reason at all. Many religions view children as gift of God. In the bible, people mourned because they did not have children. Sarah was childless until she was 90, Hannah poured out her soul to the Lord because of her barrenness. Well, you could say these are people in old days. But today, while I walk in the O&G Clinics, I see couples wanting babies so badly, they tried and they tried, but there was none.


Conceive is not an accident, and it's not a co-incident. It takes extreme effort of the sperms from the male, and the readiness of the ovum from the female. 3 It is fierce race - race to life.



Honestly, I'm not sure if we can say that an zygote is not a form of life. 4,5

References:
1. Randy Alcorn. Why Pro-Life? Eternal Perspective Ministry, 2004. Chapter 5
2. Mortimer J.A. Haves Without Have-Nots: Essays for the 21st Century on Democracy and Socialism (New York: MAcMillan, 1991),210.
3. Nir A. The fertilization dance: a mechanical view of the egg rotation during the initial spermatozoa-ovum interaction. [Journal Article] Journal of Theoretical Biology. 214(2):171-9, 2002 Jan 21.
4. Everything from Conception to Birth. http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1514886
5. Life Begins at Fertilization with the Embryo's conception. http://www.princeton.edu/~prolife/articles/embryoquotes2.html