Life Begins at Conception — The Science is Settled

by Deacon Michael Bickerstaff | August 4, 2013 12:01 am

[1]One day this week, I was checking out the latest tweets over at Twitter — did I really just write THAT!?!  Anyway, I stumbled upon a conversation between a solid, pro-life Catholic and someone who thinks that opposition to abortion is ridiculous.

So, did I quietly move on, recognizing that 140 character-limit tweets is no place to enter into debate on the culture wars? Nope. Against all common sense and good judgment, I jumped into the fray.

I wrote, “Children are always a blessing… always… and innocent.”

Surely no one could take offense at this statement. Wrong!

I suppose that I could have expected someone to respond with, “Yeah, but even blessings need to be wanted…” or some other tripe that completely ignores the new human life that most moms and dads refer to as babies. But, I never saw the actual response coming…

“With all due respect, Deacon Mike, not everyone agrees. Also, preg/childbirth have significant risks.”

This was from a medical doctor, of all people. After several more exchanges, I replied to her…

“I know these are difficult questions… truly. But the intentional killing of an innocent baby is never the answer. God Bless.”

Here is where I was floored.  Another person joined the conversation and took exception with my phrase, “innocent baby”.

This new participant wrote, “Calling a zygote or a fetus ‘an innocent baby’ is not responsible.” And another one said we were talking about two cells, not a human being.

See why I say it is useless to get in the sound-bite-sized debates? Calling me irresponsible for stating the obvious is what is irresponsible.

The Science is in and It is Conclusive

Medical Science has long understood when a new, self-determining, unique human life begins. It begins at fertilization, also called conception; the coming together of the sperm and the ovum.

This is not religious thought or opinion – it is settled science.

This “product of conception”, a euphemism used by the pro-abort side to distract us from reality, is a new organism. Its DNA is unique from its mother and father. It is human. If allowed to mature, it will never become a fish, bird or animal – it is and always will be a human.

Most other arguments are distractions or distortions.

• Pregnancy does not occur until implantation – Wrong! No matter how one defines pregnancy, the new, unique, distinctive human life begins at fertilization. Implantation is simply a stage on the continuum of life of that human.
• Okay, it might be a human life, but it is not yet a human being, not yet a person – Wrong! Since when does one person decide when another human organism is a human being? The Nazis tried that regarding Jews. So did the newly-founded United States regarding African slaves. The world’s history is filled with such examples of injustice.
• Well this question is best left between a woman and her doctor, you should not force your morality on me – Wrong! We force (legislate) morality all the time. Just look at our laws.
• All you Catholics care about is the unborn ‘child’ and not the mother… and certainly not the ‘child’ after it is born – Wrong! We care about BOTH the unborn child and the mother… equally. And anyone who has eyes to see has to acknowledge the unrivaled charitable and social justice activities of the Catholic Church and its members.

You get the idea. The reality is far different from how it is portrayed by those who favor abortion. It is actually the Catholic Church with the science on its side. It is the pro-abortion crowd that often speaks, not with science, but with emotion and, dare I say, blind faith to the secular deity of self.

What is even more frightening is the trend by many over the past few decades who acknowledge the science yet argue in favor of abortion anyway.  God save us all.

Pray, pray and pray some more. And become involved in the pro-life movement.

Into the deep…

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Into the Deep[2] by Deacon Mike Bickerstaff is a regular feature of the The Integrated Catholic Life™ and usually appears on Sundays and occasionally on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.

Deacon Mike Bickerstaff is the Editor in chief and co-founder of the The Integrated Catholic Life™. A Catholic Deacon of the Roman Rite for the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Deacon Bickerstaff is assigned to St. Peter Chanel Catholic Church where he is the Director of Adult Education and Evangelization.

He is a co-founder of the successful annual Atlanta Catholic Business Conference; the Chaplain of the Atlanta Chapter of the Woodstock Theological Center’s Business Conference; and Chaplains to the St. Peter Chanel Business Association and co-founder of the Marriages Are Covenants Ministry, both of which serve as models for similar parish-based ministries.

Looking for a Catholic Speaker?  Check out Deacon Mike’s speaker page[3] and the rest of the ICL Speaker’s Bureau.

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Source URL: https://integratedcatholiclife.org/2013/08/deacon-bickerstaff-conception-settled-science/

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