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TITLE: A Woman's Right to Choose Ends at Conception
By Gabrielle Pickle
04/13/06
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This article is intended for a magazine-type publication. It is aimed at the adult public at large, specifically non-christian. Would a non-christian read this?
‘A WOMAN’S RIGHT TO CHOOSE’ ENDS AT CONCEPTION
By Gabrielle Pickle

The statement ‘a woman’s right to choose’ finds its roots in the women’s rights movement. This statement acknowledges that women have the same constitutional rights as do men: the right to an education; the right to vote; the right to voice their opinions freely, etcetera. A woman has the right to choose with whom she will have sex. This makes all forms of rape unlawful, whether by her husband or another. A woman has the right to choose whether or not she will have children. This prohibits women from being forcefully impregnated and incarcerated until full-term to bear children for a regime, as was practiced by the Third Reich in World War 2. A woman has the right to choose who she will marry: or choose whether or not to accept an arranged marriage. A woman has the right to use birth control to prevent pregnancy.
Everyday, women choose to have sexual intercourse and from that encounter become pregnant. Then those same women choose to eliminate the child growing inside them. We call that decision ‘a woman’s right to choose.’ This is a blatant contradiction of terms. Abortion does not fall under the category of a woman’s right to her body. That zygote, or embryo, is a separate entity in and of itself. Genetically, the fetus is not a part of the mother. The ovum from the woman contains 23 chromosomes. The sperm from the man also contains 23 chromosomes. A normal body cell contains 46 chromosomes, excluding chromosomal abnormalities. Every non-sex cell in the body of the mother contains the same 46 chromosomes. The same is true of the man. Each donate 23 of those 46 chromosomes to their child. That combination of 23mom + 23dad creates a genetically new entity—the fetus. If the fetus were a part of the mother’s body then they would share the same genetic structure. But this is not the case, the mother and fetus can have different blood, tissue, or bone marrow types, because they are two genetically separate individuals.
An example of how the fetus is a genetically new entity is seen in the immune system. The human immune system works to recognize and eliminate foreign matter (foreign cells, infectious agents, waste) from the body. There are four blood types: A, B, O, and AB. There is also an Rh factor, either + or - . People who have Rh+ blood types make antigen D. Rh + can only donate to other positives, while the Rh- can donate to both + and -. If the mother is Rh+ (A+, B+, O+, AB+) and the fetus is Rh- (A-, B-, O-, AB-), then the mother’s immune system will make antibodies for antigen D that will recognize and attack the fetus’ red blood cells and cause them to rupture, which can kill the fetus. The mother’s body recognizes the child as a separate being, why do we not do the same?
If when the child is fifteen, the mother needs a new kidney, there is only a 15.5% chance that the child is a match and can be a donor. On the flip side, there is only a 17% chance that the mother can give a kidney to her child. This is because mother and child are two different genetic individuals. If the child develops leukemia, there is only a 10% chance that the mother will be a match to donate bone marrow. Why such a small chance of being a match? Because mother and child are separate genetic individuals. This genetic individuality begins the moment the ovum and sperm unite and their genetic material is combined. Ovum and sperm combine to form the zygote which immediately begins to replicate and divide to form the fetus. Despite the simplicity of its appearance, the zygote is totipotent, that is, it has the potential to give rise to every type of cell needed in the human body. The zygote is a separate, completely unique, individual.
Yet, as women, we claim as a right, the ability to terminate the life of that individual. Rights are defined as legally recognized entitlements. Most often that includes legal representation and freedom of speech. The U.S. Bill of Rights lists what we are entitled to as U.S. citizens. I have the right to do and expect certain things as a U.S. citizen—until my right infringes on the rights of another. Then my right is forfeited. I have the right of freedom of speech until I defame the character of someone else and cause him to loose his job. Then my right to freedom of speech is forfeited and I am punishable for slander. I have the right to legally bare arms until I kill someone and violate their right to live. Then my right is forfeited and I am charged with murder. As a woman, I have the right to control the reproductive organs of my body. That right ends when I violate the right of another entity to live.
I am a firm supporter of women’s rights—up to the point where those rights infringe on the rights of another. A ‘woman’s right to choose’ ends at conception, when sperm joins with ovum and a new genetic individual in created. That new entity—that child—has the same rights as you and I: the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
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