When I think about why this is a political wedge issue, I think about how righteous people feel about their chosen point of view. I think about how that feeling of righteousness can drive people to vote and donate money.
I don't think that people are wrong to feel this sense of righteousness, but I do find it disgusting when politicians cynically exploit it.
I was raised in a Christian faith that condemns abortion as one of the most serious sins. I understand that point of view. I still feel it to some extent. What I no longer have is the feeling of certainty that personhood begins at conception. Even saying that "life" begins at conception is tenuous. Gametes (sperm and egg cells) are "alive" in that they carry out the same cellular functions that other living cells carry out. Is a zygote more alive than the gametes that came together to form it? If your faith leads you to believe that a zygote is a person, I won't tell you that you are wrong. I would ask that you consider if another person's sincerely held beliefs may be valid when they contradict this point of view.
I don't think that people are wrong to feel this sense of righteousness, but I do find it disgusting when politicians cynically exploit it.
I was raised in a Christian faith that condemns abortion as one of the most serious sins. I understand that point of view. I still feel it to some extent. What I no longer have is the feeling of certainty that personhood begins at conception. Even saying that "life" begins at conception is tenuous. Gametes (sperm and egg cells) are "alive" in that they carry out the same cellular functions that other living cells carry out. Is a zygote more alive than the gametes that came together to form it? If your faith leads you to believe that a zygote is a person, I won't tell you that you are wrong. I would ask that you consider if another person's sincerely held beliefs may be valid when they contradict this point of view.