A biologist says the baby in the womb is a pile of cells

by Matt Slick

From an email: 

"I would like to refer to your statement of abortion. As a Biologist, I want to note that a 'baby in a womb' only begins to feel and to think after 12 weeks in the mother's womb. Before this period it is only a pile of cells, if you do a abortion in this period, you only kill a few cells (it's comparable as removing some death skin of your arm).  If you do a abortion after 12 weeks, then, only then, you speak of murder. Also, it's preferable to remove a (not thinking) baby than giving birth to a unwanted baby."

Unfortunately, such thinking has led to an increase in promiscuity, pregnancies, and emotional damage caused by aborting the life in the womb. Is the life in the womb "only a pile of cells"?  Let's look at this logically.

1. Is the "pile of cells" alive?
2. There are only two logical possibilities:  1) yes the pile is alive, or 2) the pile of cells is not alive.
   1. If yes, let's continue.
   2. If no, well... give up your biology degree.
3. If it is alive, is it 1) human by nature, or 2) not human by nature?
   1. These are exhaustive categories.  The life is either human or it is not human.  There are no third options.
4. If it is alive and NOT human, then...
   1. What kind of life is it?
   2. What is its nature if it is alive yet not human?
   3. Saying that it is merely alive and not human doesn't answer what it is.
   4. Saying it is pre-human doesn't answer what it is.
   5. From where did it derive its life?
   6. If it derived its life from human parents (human DNA), then how is it not human by nature?
   7. If you don't know what it is, then what justifies you killing what may or may not be human?  After all, if you don't know what it is, can you rightly say it isn't human?
   8. Then would it be okay to transplant the "pile of living cells" into the womb of a dog?  If not, why not?
5. If it is NOT human, but is alive, then WHEN does it change from non-human life to human life?
   1. If you don't know, then why risk killing that which might have become human since you don't know when the change is?
   2. Then what happens that changes the nature of this living thing from non-human to human?
   3. If you give any date (i.e., 10 weeks) as to when it becomes human, then please see Outline Point 4 and answer the questions.
6. If it is alive and human, then...
   1. It would mean that abortion is the killing of human life.
   2. It would mean that abortion is murder since it is taking a human life that has committed no crime.