ORANGE COUNTY LETTERS : Just When Does Life Begin and End?
The Dianne Klein column (“The End Does Not Justify the Fanatical Means of Terrorism,” March 16), after building on the murder of Dr. Gunn, asks for governmental vigor in pursuit of pro-life fanatics as if they were murdering terrorists. Two significant issues come to mind: life and freedom of assembly. I’ll comment on the life issue.
What is life? When does life begin? When does life end? Courts have addressed life of a fetus with respect to the time from conception. So now, a legal system says what is life and what is not life: To the system, life depends on a particular spot on the gestation timeline. Prior to that spot on that timeline, if the object is destroyed, no harm, no hurt, no murder has taken place. But after that spot, well, that could be a killing and the system will deal with it.
Is there a better definition of life? I believe so. It’s simple. It’s straightforward. But it is not original. The definition? Life begins when there is blood circulating in the fetus. This is based on the scriptural principle that life is in the blood. (“The life of the flesh is in the blood” Genesis 9:4; Leviticus 17:11, 14; Deuteronomy 12:23). This word rendered as life also conveys the idea of soul, creature, person and mind. It is also in the lex talionis formula of “life for life.”
RALPH C. McCALL,
Newport Beach