Re: Answers Department of AiG


Geoff wrote:

"neverbetter" <neverbetter@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1141153428.857623.39190@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[...]

Interesting. What is AiG's stance in the abortion/contraception issue?
It occurs to me that if life is defined as "something having
hemoglobin" an embryo in the very earliest stages doesn't count as life
and aborting those shouldn't be considered murder.

Does anyone know in which stage hemoglobin develops first?

I found the following at
http://health.allrefer.com/health/fetal-development-info.html

During the time between implantation and the eighth week, the cells of
what is now called the embryo not only multiply, but begin to take on
specific functions. This
process is called differentiation, and is necessary to produce the
varied cell types
that make up a human being (such as blood cells, kidney cells, nerve
cells, etc.).
*snip*
Specific changes by week for the embryonic stage:

Week 3
beginning development of the brain, spinal cord, and heart
beginning development of the gastrointestinal tract
Weeks 4 to 5
formation of tissue that develops into the vertebra and some other
bones
further development of the heart which now beats at a regular rhythm
movement of rudimentary blood through the main vessels
beginning of the structures of the eye and ears
the brain develops into five areas and some cranial nerves are visible
arm and leg buds are visible
Week 6
beginning of formation of the lungs
further development of the brain
arms and legs have lengthened with foot and hand areas distinguishable
hands and feet have digits, but may still be webbed
heart and circulation more fully developed

If the differentiation process starts at implantation and it takes some
time after that for rudimentary blood to form, there should be no
objection to those contraceptive methods that stop implantation. (I
assume that only the blood cells contain hemoglobin, am I wrong?)

I also learned that fetuses have different hemoglobin from adults.
Fetal hemoglobin is made up of 2 alpha chains and 2 gamma chains. Adult
hemoglobin A is made up of 2 alpha chains and 2 beta chains. I wonder
if Genesis has taken this into consideration. Is fetal hemoglobin
considered equal to adult hemoglobin in the definition of life?

And what if we had a species which had the genes for making hemoglobin
but had switched to some other system and didn't express them? Would it
count as half-alive? As we have species with different mutated
hemoglobins, are they all equal or are degrees of being alive? If a
species no longer has the original unmutated form created in the Eden,
are they still alive?

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Answers Department of AiG
    ... It occurs to me that if life is defined as "something having ... hemoglobin" an embryo in the very earliest stages doesn't count as life ... Does anyone know in which stage hemoglobin develops first? ... I bet it's around the same time as the heart first starts functioning, ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Answers Department of AiG
    ... It occurs to me that if life is defined as "something having ... hemoglobin" an embryo in the very earliest stages doesn't count as life ... and aborting those shouldn't be considered murder. ... Does anyone know in which stage hemoglobin develops first? ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Are ALL Republicans lying scumbags?
    ... All cells are life. ... William Clark ... an embryo, and second, these embryos are marked for destruction any way. ...
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