Loudmouth,

<<Is an embryo already a human being? Or does this condition apply only to foetuses, with beating hearts ? Up to the end of the second trimester ? The third trimester?

Once some of the 'self-appointed judges' here clarify these issues, we can know what the hell we're arguing about.>>

Are you a 'self-appointed judge' of those who make statements about the human being starting at conception/implantation?

What's the medical evidence?

'The Official [USA] Senate report on Senate Bill 158, the “Human Life Bill,” summarized the issue this way:

'Physicians, biologists, and other scientists agree that conception marks the beginning of the life of a human being—a being that is alive and is a member of the human species. There is overwhelming agreement on this point in countless medical, biological, and scientific writings' (Report, Subcommittee on Separation of Powers to Senate Judiciary Committee S-158, 97th Congress, 1st Session 1981, 7), available at: http://naapc.org/why-life-begins-at-conception/

See also '41 Quotes From Medical Textbooks Prove Human Life Begins at Conception' at: http://www.lifenews.com/2015/01/08/41-quotes-from-medical-textbooks-prove-human-life-begins-at-conception/

Dear NNS,

We need more than contraceptives being available. We need people trained to use them. Some sects of various religions promote virginity. If a girl belonging to those sects gets carried away by emotion she is more likely to have sex without contraceptives than a girl who is trained in their use.

You wrote: “I'm sorry for your cousin. I really am. If she wasn't pregnant when she commited suicide, would you look at the issues of sucide on their own, without abortion being called a solution?”

If she had not been pregnant she would not have had the motive for committing suicide. Suicide would not have been an issue. If she had had the option of abortion she could have got on with her life.

You also wrote: As for your childhood and the strain between your parents and you, I can't relate to that as much as I do with your cousin. But look at yourself. You have kids of your own don't you? Do you wish they were not born as a result of you not being born?

Certainly, if I had not born they would not have been born. There are too many people on earth already. I feel guilty about my nine descendants. Does it matter if there is one fewer ant in the anthill? Had I been as aware of the consequences of uncontrolled population growth earlier I might not have had any children. My oldest son who I love dearly has macular degeneration and glaucoma. It is possible he will go blind. He is alive, but I grieve for him.

So far none of my six grandchildren has produced young, but they are all still capable of it so the danger has not yet passed.

Actually, I have had a fairly happy life. If I hadn’t been born I couldn’t miss it. Considering some of our more acrimonious exchanges it might have been more peaceful for you if I didn’t exist.

I will now retire to the tenth century with Paul Collins’ ‘The Birth of the West’.

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Dear ttbn, runner and nns,

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You obviously do not accept the OED definitions of what the words “abortion”, “embryo”, “fetus” and “baby” signify in the English language which, unfortunately makes any meaningful discussion on the subject under discussion impossible.

Your rejection of the commonly accepted meaning of these words is, I suppose, based on your understanding of Christian doctrine regarding the interpretation of biblical texts.

If you don’t mind my saying so, I think it should be possible to oppose abortion without having to resort to perverting the English language.

I do not object to your religious beliefs, but I do think we should try to find a common ground of understanding on the meaning of the words we employ.

As Nelson Mandela is quoted as having said :

« If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart »
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Here are some words of advice from the bible :
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Ephesians 4:29 :

« Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers »
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Matthew 12:36-37 :

« But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned »
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Proverbs 13:3 :

« He who guards his mouth preserves his life, But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction »
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Proverbs 18:21 :

« Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit »
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Luke 6:45 :

« The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks »

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Dear OzSpen,

I sympathise with your distress in dealing with someone who wants no part of your silly superstition. However, I would suggest that your citing of casting 'pearls before swine' is ill-chosen. If you want somebody to pay attention to you, it is not wise to compare them to swine. Although I have no respect for your superstition with its man-good, a deity in three parts, a virgin mother and other silliness I would not compare you to a swine. You are an extremely deluded human being, but you are a human being. It would be very wrong of me to call you names even though I have no regard for your silly superstition.

To David f.

How much training does it take to use a condom? It's not complicated. At best all a person would need is some written instructions in the box if there was concern over how to use it. No training is needed. The only complication is whether it'll be used, not whether it's understood how to use it.

That said abstance works better for two reasons. There's no chance for getting pregnant, and no chance of spreading or receiving an STD. Having the access to contraceptives should be enough, even if the person strives to not have sex, they still can with little expense without resulting in a pregnancy. The numbers for how many abortions happen a year show that contraceptives aren't being used.

If you mean something more in your suggestion then people knowing how to use the contraceptives, then please say what you're suggesting. As far as I can tell people already know how to use them, they just don't.

(Continued)

(Continued)

I didn't know your cousin, so maybe she said in a note or previously about ending her life due to being pregnant. But from what you've written, the situation was more then just being pregnant. It was also losing someone. If her boyfriend died, I'm sure she was in a vulnerable state of mind. For your children, I can no more agree with your view that it'd be better if they weren't born, then I can agree with Yuyutsu's view that children dying are not a tragic event. Neither perspective is approachable in my opinion. No rationale of population control, religious views, or anything else are enough. Especially if you love your children. Take comfort in the love you have for your family. There's no reason to feel guilty about them being here. Especially don't feel guilty because of the ideas of over population. It's not a good enough reason to feel guilty about having a family and hopefully through them having a lasting influence in the world that is positive in it.

In my opinion the guilt regarding overpopulation is unreasonable and unjustified. It creates a "what if" world to compare to (one that has a smaller population) and assumes that world would be better. The problem with that world is that it doesn't exist, and there's no way to tell if it would be better, roughly the same, or worse because it's missing the influence of some of the people we have today. Any world that doesn't have my wife in it is not the same or better, then the one we have today. It's not just because I love her, but also because of how she is and who she is to everyone she meets. I hope you have similar understanding when looking at your children and grandchildren. That they are adding a positive influence to the world not a negative influence. Either way I hope that helps.