There is the ongoing debate about abortion. Pro-abortionist have been called “murderers” by religious fundamentalist who insist that they are correct. They believe that they are messengers of god. It is not possible to argue with this kind of people but others, believers and non-believers want to have a reasonable debate on the matter. That it is wrong to kill babies, is probably a position that all normal thinking people can agree with, the point of contention is: when does a bunch of cells becomes a baby. Historically up to the nineteenth century, the common "knowledge" was the very ancient belief that a baby became a human when the first breath entered the baby. Our medical knowledge has drastically expanded since so we have to set a new standard and that sums up the debate.
The debate for religious people has become, when does the baby become an independent soul or spirit. Let me go back to what soul means: the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, according to the dictionary. Soul is equivalent to spirit. Spirit is also regarded as Ghost (The Holy Ghost) The word Spirit comes from the latin “spiritus” meaning Breath. You will see many references in the bible as well as other literature to Breath meaning Spirit, start with Genesis when God blew into Adams nose to make him human. Don't take my word for it, do the research your self, there are tons of material available to anyone on the net and in any library. Many religions have the same idea, most probably from common origin in the distant past when humans realized that the air was THE life force that made life possible. It entered the body at the time of birth and it left the body at death. One could live without water and food for a while but the lack of air was nearly instantaneous deadly. The breath (spirit, soul, ghost) gave life. It was part of the Great Spirit (the wind, look it up as well if you are willing to do the research, before you reject this reasoning because It doesn't fit into your belief or your biases). The individual spirit then joined the Great Spirit again upon death. Thus the belief, in many religions in an immaterial substance (air easily qualified as such) as the life force is understandable. The belief that the baby received its soul (spirit, life force) upon taking it first breath was prevalent for ages until medical knowledge advanced the understanding of what actually happened in the womb. Up until recently, relatively speaking, killing babies before they took their first breath was not considered murder and was practiced in some places on unwanted babies. In some remote places in Asia or China this is still practiced, I heard, but I haven’t been able to confirm that rumor. Medical knowledge has changed that ancient point of view and now we are faced with the dilemma of determining that point, when does life begin. Religious people state the problem in their terms: when does the soul enter the potential human being formed. Some, but not all, insist that the soul enters at the point that the sperm enters the egg. Non-believers are also divided at when a fetus becomes thoroughly human. Religious people tend to be more rigid and tend to believe that they have the God given answer and therefor cannot be argued with. Others with a more open mind will want some arguments on when abortion should be allowed and when not. Eventually, it will be settled by the lawmakers we elect, and by the courts interpretation of our laws. That’s how things work in a democracy. In some parts of the world there is a consensus of no abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and not revealing the sex of the fetus until that time to prevent sex selection as the reason of abortion. It’s not ideal but it’s a start. To outright ban abortion rather than regulate it is much more problematic. That is basic what the “the soul enters at the moment of conception” would mean. Abortion (just like prostitution) will always be with us, and prohibition will never work, so must be regulated and different parts of the world need different solutions, there will be no “rule” that fits all circumstances. Now lets have a decent debate without the one side calling the other side murderers. If that’s the only thing you have to say, and “know” you are absolutely right, “so help you god’, stay out of the debate, you are not convincing any one and do not make a contribution to help solve the problem,
The debate for religious people has become, when does the baby become an independent soul or spirit. Let me go back to what soul means: the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, according to the dictionary. Soul is equivalent to spirit. Spirit is also regarded as Ghost (The Holy Ghost) The word Spirit comes from the latin “spiritus” meaning Breath. You will see many references in the bible as well as other literature to Breath meaning Spirit, start with Genesis when God blew into Adams nose to make him human. Don't take my word for it, do the research your self, there are tons of material available to anyone on the net and in any library. Many religions have the same idea, most probably from common origin in the distant past when humans realized that the air was THE life force that made life possible. It entered the body at the time of birth and it left the body at death. One could live without water and food for a while but the lack of air was nearly instantaneous deadly. The breath (spirit, soul, ghost) gave life. It was part of the Great Spirit (the wind, look it up as well if you are willing to do the research, before you reject this reasoning because It doesn't fit into your belief or your biases). The individual spirit then joined the Great Spirit again upon death. Thus the belief, in many religions in an immaterial substance (air easily qualified as such) as the life force is understandable. The belief that the baby received its soul (spirit, life force) upon taking it first breath was prevalent for ages until medical knowledge advanced the understanding of what actually happened in the womb. Up until recently, relatively speaking, killing babies before they took their first breath was not considered murder and was practiced in some places on unwanted babies. In some remote places in Asia or China this is still practiced, I heard, but I haven’t been able to confirm that rumor. Medical knowledge has changed that ancient point of view and now we are faced with the dilemma of determining that point, when does life begin. Religious people state the problem in their terms: when does the soul enter the potential human being formed. Some, but not all, insist that the soul enters at the point that the sperm enters the egg. Non-believers are also divided at when a fetus becomes thoroughly human. Religious people tend to be more rigid and tend to believe that they have the God given answer and therefor cannot be argued with. Others with a more open mind will want some arguments on when abortion should be allowed and when not. Eventually, it will be settled by the lawmakers we elect, and by the courts interpretation of our laws. That’s how things work in a democracy. In some parts of the world there is a consensus of no abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and not revealing the sex of the fetus until that time to prevent sex selection as the reason of abortion. It’s not ideal but it’s a start. To outright ban abortion rather than regulate it is much more problematic. That is basic what the “the soul enters at the moment of conception” would mean. Abortion (just like prostitution) will always be with us, and prohibition will never work, so must be regulated and different parts of the world need different solutions, there will be no “rule” that fits all circumstances. Now lets have a decent debate without the one side calling the other side murderers. If that’s the only thing you have to say, and “know” you are absolutely right, “so help you god’, stay out of the debate, you are not convincing any one and do not make a contribution to help solve the problem,
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