{"id":26891,"date":"2013-02-05T15:31:09","date_gmt":"2013-02-05T20:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"\/news\/?p=26891"},"modified":"2013-02-06T10:24:02","modified_gmt":"2013-02-06T15:24:02","slug":"no-equivocation-necessary-a-response-to-nros-avik-roy-on-when-life-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/no-equivocation-necessary-a-response-to-nros-avik-roy-on-when-life-begins\/","title":{"rendered":"No Equivocation Necessary: a response to NRO’s Avik Roy on when life begins"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

\"NRO_Corner_Masthead1\"<\/a>Even as abortion advocates begin admitting<\/a> that abortion takes a life, it seems that some on our own side are still confused on that point. While debating Ashley McGuire<\/a> and Michael New<\/a> on what strategies the pro-life movement should adopt, National Review<\/i>\u2019s Avik Roy makes<\/a> the following assertion:<\/p>\n

Ashley makes the argument that \u201cthe scientific community accepts the simple assertion that at the moment of conception, a new human life is created.\u201d My degree in biology is admittedly a few decades old, but I\u2019m not aware of any scientific consensus around when life begins, especially when it comes to the legal rights that embryos should enjoy. If we were to take a poll of Ph.D.-level biologists, I would be surprised if their views on abortion diverged meaningfully from those found in the typical blue state. Ashley and I might believe that life begins at conception, but we should acknowledge that this belief is moral and philosophical, not empirical.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Of all the ground to even think about surrendering, this is the most premature. Knowing that the unborn are objectively alive from conception onward is a simple matter of understanding<\/a> that they are genetically distinct and whole organisms of the species Homo sapiens<\/i>, that they grow through cellular reproduction, that they metabolize nutrients into energy, and that they respond to stimuli.<\/p>\n

The balance<\/a> of expert opinion<\/a> on the subject (even among pro-choicers like Peter Singer and David Boonin) is overwhelming that, as Prof. Hymie Gordon of the Mayo Clinic testified in 1981, \u201c[b]y all the criteria of modern molecular biology, life is present from the moment of conception.\u201d The average biology textbook reads no different from a pro-life pamphlet. For instance:<\/p>\n

Human development begins at fertilization, the process during which a male gamete or sperm (spermatozoo developmentn) unites with a female gamete or oocyte (ovum) to form a single cell called a zygote. This highly specialized, totipotent cell marked the beginning of each of us as a unique individual.<\/p>\n

A zygote is the beginning of a new human being (i.e., an embryo).<\/p>\n

– Keith L. Moore, <\/em>The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, 7th edition<\/a>. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders, 2003. pp. 16, 2.<\/em> <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Roy seems to be confusing the biological question of when life begins, which is<\/i> empirical, with spiritual and philosophical questions about that life\u2019s significance, which aren\u2019t. But in order to have intelligent and productive debate about the latter, we have to get the former perfectly clear.<\/p>\n

Beyond his claim\u2019s inaccuracy, Roy\u2019s broader point is that pro-lifers should do more to reach out to people who sympathize with many of our positions but aren\u2019t 100% there, since they recognize pre-born humanity only at some stages. That\u2019s all well and good, but indulging scientific confusion on the matter won\u2019t do us any good to that end.<\/p>\n

For anyone thinking rationally about abortion, when life begins is the single most important factor in forming an opinion, and if we\u2019re trying to persuade those who think the answer is sometime other than conception, that\u2019s obviously what we have to focus on correcting. Falsely conceding that the question has no empirically right answer gives people undue confidence and comfort in the very misimpressions we\u2019re trying to help them break away from. If both sides agree that there\u2019s no really<\/i> correct answer, then switching sides can\u2019t be all that urgent, can it?<\/p>\n

If the people we\u2019re talking about really are reachable, we\u2019ll reach them only by clearly and honestly stating the facts, and demonstrating their truth with reason and evidence – not by pandering to ignorance and lending credence to falsehoods that keep them in the opposition\u2019s camp.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A hill to die on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":26892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nNo Equivocation Necessary: a response to NRO's Avik Roy on when life begins - Live Action News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/no-equivocation-necessary-a-response-to-nros-avik-roy-on-when-life-begins\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"No Equivocation Necessary: a response to NRO's Avik Roy on when life begins - Live Action News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A hill to die on.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/no-equivocation-necessary-a-response-to-nros-avik-roy-on-when-life-begins\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Live Action News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-02-05T20:31:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-02-06T15:24:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/NRO_Corner_Masthead1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"397\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"385\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Calvin Freiburger\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@liveaction\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@liveaction\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Calvin Freiburger\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/no-equivocation-necessary-a-response-to-nros-avik-roy-on-when-life-begins\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/no-equivocation-necessary-a-response-to-nros-avik-roy-on-when-life-begins\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Calvin Freiburger\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/6eb2bf94c8064b71953ba137bf413c4d\"},\"headline\":\"No Equivocation Necessary: a response to NRO’s Avik Roy on when life begins\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-02-05T20:31:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-02-06T15:24:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/no-equivocation-necessary-a-response-to-nros-avik-roy-on-when-life-begins\/\"},\"wordCount\":630,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Analysis\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/no-equivocation-necessary-a-response-to-nros-avik-roy-on-when-life-begins\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/no-equivocation-necessary-a-response-to-nros-avik-roy-on-when-life-begins\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/no-equivocation-necessary-a-response-to-nros-avik-roy-on-when-life-begins\/\",\"name\":\"No Equivocation Necessary: a response to NRO's Avik Roy on when life begins - 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