by Stephen Williamson

Created on: July 19, 2008   Last Updated: August 30, 2010

A question oft-asked in political circles is "When does life begin?".  Why do we ask this question?  Well, in order to define the morality of abortion, we must inquire into the process which may or may not mark it as "murder".  However, this question is in a form unsuitable for leading us to the answer.

The first and most important thing to notice about the question whose form is under scrutiny is that there is no mention of the all-important process at the heart of this inquiry.  Life simply "begins".  Poof.  If we are to attend to the process behind it adequately, a more appropriate phrasing might be "When is life created?".

Notice how there is suddenly respect for its source when phrasing it this way, how suddenly it is no longer a passive transition into existence, but someone must have done something in order for it to happen.  Notice also that there is no suggestion in this phrasing about who that might be; perhaps it was God (or perhaps not), or perhaps it was the parents, or, perhaps it was the mother creating life on her own.

This leads us into the next thing to notice: in order for life to begin, it must have a cause.  There must be a "creator".  Here, people afraid of where this is leading may argue that while life is to be respected, it is merely a physical quality.  Looking at it that way is just fine.  Let us examine what happens in the biological process of reproduction.

First, DNA-that is, the defining characteristic of our bodies-is taken in pieces from the man and woman.  Then, through the reproductive act, the partial cells merge into a fertilized egg with new and unique DNA.  This new cell then grows into a baby, and is expelled in a biological process that takes place in the woman's body.  Let us examine our options: we have (1) the creation of the partial cells without unique DNA, (2) the creation of the fertilized egg with new DNA and self-directing behavior, or (3) the result of a biological process in the woman which expels the matured body from her own.  We see that the potency of the question is not reduced.

Now, those who are spiritually inclined may likewise object to what has been reasoned out immediately above on the grounds that life should be considered spiritual.  Looking at it that way is just fine.  Let us assume that a rational God would create body and spirit simultaneously, in recognition of their unity.  This would mean that once

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