Technically, it is a parasite.

I prefer not to think of human life in that way, but to each their own.

Of course, an acorn is biologically and genetically an oak, but nobody calls an acorn an oak tree, do they?

(May 16, 2018 at 10:37 pm)Rev. Rye Wrote: Of course, an acorn is biologically and genetically an oak, but nobody calls an acorn an oak tree, do they?

I might call it a baby oak tree. 😛

(May 16, 2018 at 10:39 pm)LadyForCamus Wrote:

(May 16, 2018 at 10:37 pm)Rev. Rye Wrote: Of course, an acorn is biologically and genetically an oak, but nobody calls an acorn an oak tree, do they?

I might call it a baby oak tree. 😛

Would you have considered doing so before I made that point?

(May 16, 2018 at 10:46 pm)Rev. Rye Wrote:

(May 16, 2018 at 10:39 pm)LadyForCamus Wrote: I might call it a baby oak tree. 😛

Would you have considered doing so before I made that point?

Honestly, I don’t think it’s a fair comparison; a tree and a human being.  I’m not saying that a fetus is a fully fledged human being.  I don’t even consider myself pro-life.  I’m just saying that the fetus is human, and if a moral distinction can be made between shooting a guy versus chopping down an oak tree, then I don’t believe we should be comparing offspring.

Is a tree less important than a human being? I think not.

The comparison lies in the fact that I see fetuses and acorns as being potential humans and trees, but not yet actual trees. And as someone who's grown a few avocado trees from seeds, I'd say it truly becomes an actual plant when the seed finally germinates, and I'd say a fetus becomes an actual human either at birth, or if I'm feeling generous, around the same time its brain develops the ability to sense, which tends to be somewhere around the beginning of the third trimester. After all, brain death is generally counted as when life ends, so why not count when it starts functioning as the start of life?

(May 16, 2018 at 11:02 pm)Rev. Rye Wrote: The comparison lies in the fact that I see fetuses and acorns as being potential humans and trees, but not yet actual trees. And as someone who's grown a few avocado trees from seeds, I'd say it truly becomes an actual plant when the seed finally germinates, and I'd say a fetus becomes an actual human either at birth, or if I'm feeling generous, around the same time its brain develops the ability to sense, which tends to be somewhere around the beginning of the third trimester.

A better analogy is a speck of sand is not a sand castle or A chunk of marble is a potential statue .

A speck of sand is not so much a potential sandcastle as a potential part of a sandcastle. The chunk of marble one, though, is pretty good, although, then again, a chunk of marble isn't a living thing and can never be.