Threats to Life at the Earliest Stages

8/3/2019 Threats to Life at the Earliest Stages

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Pro-Life Conference, Ealing Abbey, 15th October 2011

Threats to Life at its Earliest Stages


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Life begins at conceptionFACT!

The development of a human being begins with fertilization, a process

by which two highly specialised cells, the spermatozoon from the maleand the oocyte from the female, unite to give rise to a new organism,the zygote.

(Langman, Jan. Medical Embryology. 3rd edition. Baltimore: Williamsand Wilkins, 1975, p. 3)

Although life is a continuous process, fertilization is a critical

landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new, genetically

distinct human organism is thereby formed....The embryo now existsas a genetic unity.(O'Rahilly, Ronan and Mller, Fabiola. Human Embryology &Teratology. 2nd edition. New York: Wiley-Liss, 1996, pp. 8, 29.)


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Different approaches to howwe view the embryo

No special status whatsoever

A gradualist approach

Full respect as a human being


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Practices that do not respect lifeat its earliest stage

In Vitro Fertilisation

Embryo Research/HumanCloning

Chemical Contraception


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Baroness Mary

Warnock

We recommend thatno live human

embryo derived fromIVF, whether frozenor unfrozen, may bekept alive, if not

transferred to awoman, beyond 14days, after

fertilisation

Warnock Report, 1984


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UK has one of the most liberal approaches inthe world

HFEA criticised for having crossed the

boundary from regulation to advocacy

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008has an anything goes attitude


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Since 1990, there have beenover 2 million human embryoshave been destroyed through

IVF & experimentation

If we maintain that thedeveloping embryo is deserving

of the same respect as otherhumans, this is a grave injustice


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What ideas drive this lack ofrespect for the embryo?

A right to a child

Potentially unlimited cures

Pursuit of knowledge withoutboundaries


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Scientific justification for the HFE Act 2008 regardinghybrids, given to Parliamentary Committee

Dr Lovell-Badge said:I cannot think of a good experiment to do now but I am

sure someone will think of a good experiment.

Professor Bobrow said:We are also not aware of any pressing scientific

reasons at the moment for creating such entities, butwho knows what tomorrow might bring?


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A child is not something owedto one but is a

gift. The supreme gift of marriage is a humanperson. A child may not be considered apiece of property, an idea to which an allegedright to a child would lead. In this area, only

the child possesses genuine rights: the rightto be the fruit of the specific act of theconjugal love of his parents, and the right tobe respected as a person from the moment of

his conception.

Catechism of the Catholic Church (no. 2378)


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Abortion


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Abortion Act 1967

Abortion legal up to 24 weeks

unless theres a risk that the child might bedisabled in some way, then abortion is legalup to full term


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Abortionlethal discrimination

An abnormal foetus is not aborted because it would die,

but on the contrary because it would be healthy enoughto live a sub-human existence. Essentially it is for social,ethical and aesthetic reasons that some people recoilfrom the survival of such sub-humans and prefer to see

them aborted."

(M Simms and Keith Hindell, Abortion Law Reformed,London: Peter Owen, 1971)


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Abortionthe lesser evil?

you cannot separate womens rights from their right to fertility

control. The single biggest factor in womens liberation was our

newly found ability to impose our will on our biology As ever,when an issue we thought was black and white becomes morenuanced, the answer lies in choosing the lesser evil. The nearly200,000 aborted babies in the UK each year are the lesser evil, nomatter how you define life, or death, for that matter. If youare willing to die for a cause, you must be prepared to kill for it,too.

Antonia Senior, The Times, 30 June 2010


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In 2010, there werethe followingnumber of

abortions


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Which means thereare this many

abortions everyday

555 every day

in the UK


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Since 27th April1968, this number

of children havebeen aborted in theUK

Thankgoodnessfor pro-life

Ireland!


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Article 2: Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forthin this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race,

colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or

social origin, property, birth or other status

Article 3: Everyone has the right to life, libertyand security of person.

Article 6: Everyone has the right to recognitioneverywhere as a person before the law


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The question before us is, whether the classof persons described {descendants ofslaves}are constituent members of this

sovereignty? We think they are not, and that

they are not included, and were not intended tobe included under the word citizens in the

Constitutionthey were considered as a

subordinate and inferior class of beingsand

had no rights or privileges but such as thosewho held the power and the Government mightchoose to grant them

Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 US 393 (1856)

Supreme Court of America


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The word person, as used in the

Fourteenth Amendment, does notinclude the unborn

Roe v Wade, 410 US 113 (1973)

Lightning strikes twice


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the foetus has no right of action,

no right at all, until birth.Paton v British Pregnancy Advisory Service

Trustees, [1979] QB 276

UK justice is not much better


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the unborn child is not regarded as a

person directly protected by Article 2 ofthe Convention (the right to life)

Vo v France(53924/00), (2005) 40 EHRR 12

European Court of Human Rights


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The promotion of theculture of life should

be the highest priorityin our societies If theright to life is notdefended decisively as

a condition for allother rights of theperson, all otherreferences to humanrights remain deceitfuland illusory.

Pope John Paul II


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THE GREATEST DESTROYER OF

PEACE TODAY ISABORTIONBECAUSE IF A

MOTHER CAN KILL HER OWNCHILD, WHAT IS LEFT FOR ME TO

KILL YOU AND YOU KILL ME.THERE IS NOTHING IN BETWEEN.

MOTHER TERESANOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER

1979


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Men &

abortion


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All this is a bitdepressing Joe,

dont you haveany good news

to tell us?!

Funny you mentionthat young one, I

was just coming tothat!


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HELPING KEEPIRELAND ABORTION

FREE AT THEALL IRELAND RALLYFOR LIFE JULY 2010


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The rain came down, the streams rose, and thewinds blew and beat against that house, and it fellwith a great crash.

Matthew 7:27

Culture of Life v Culture of Death


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You know, in thiswhole abortion

debate, no onehas asked mewhat I think!

Well, nows yourchance youngonewhat do youthink of abortion?


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Abortion? I

can livewithout it!!

Threats to Life at the Earliest Stages

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