Daniel Miller is responsible for nearly all of National Right to Life News' political writing.
With the election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, Daniel Miller developed a deep obsession with U.S. politics that has never let go of the political scientist. Whether it's the election of Joe Biden, the midterm elections in Congress, the abortion rights debate in the Supreme Court or the mudslinging in the primaries - Daniel Miller is happy to stay up late for you.
Daniel was born and raised in New York. After living in China, working for a news agency and another stint at a major news network, he now lives in Arizona with his two daughters.
Editor’s Note: The six winning essays from the NRLC Pro-life Essay Contest are being reposted here. The Senior Division, comprising students in grades 10-12, will conclude today. The three winners of the Junior Division, which is for students in grades 7-9, will be announced next week.
The following is an explanation of the reasons why I am pro-life.
The question of whether humans possess rights is a matter of contention. In accordance with the United Nations, the concept of human rights encompasses the fundamental rights to life and liberty. These include freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many more. “All individuals are entitled to these rights, without distinction.” Nevertheless, it is questionable whether all humans can be considered to have rights if the unborn are excluded.
The philosophical and religious belief that the fetus is a person is the foundation of my conviction that abortion is morally wrong. The moment of conception marks the beginning of life, and continues until the natural end of life.
As a prospective biochemistry and pre-med student, I am acquiring a scientific understanding of the fundamental principles underlying life, which enables me to justify the right to life through factual and logical reasoning. As stated by Drs. Asim Kurjak and Ana Tripalo, “The biological line of existence of each individual, without exception, begins precisely when fertilization of the egg is successful.” It is an irrefutable fact that the fetus is a biological human from the moment of conception. Even those who espouse a pro-choice stance are unlikely to dispute this. This raises the question of why there is a discrepancy between the belief that a fetus has a right to life and the assertion by pro-choice individuals that a fetus is not truly human and can even be killed by its own mother. The distinction lies in the philosophical status of the fetus or infant.
At what point in the development of the foetus can one reasonably conclude that the foetus is a person? Some have proposed that personhood commences at 20 weeks gestational age, at which point the fetus is believed to be capable of experiencing pain. This would imply that any entity capable of experiencing pain should be considered human. Given that we do not consider animals to be human merely because they feel pain, it follows that we would not classify people as human based on their capacity to feel pain. Some have proposed that self-awareness, which is absent in a fetus, constitutes personhood. Nevertheless, newborns are also not initially self-aware. Nevertheless, the killing of a newborn is considered infanticide and is (thankfully) illegal. Consequently, the argument that self-awareness equates to humanness is untenable. Consequently, the categorisation of philosophical personhood cannot be substantiated by a person’s abilities, such as pain perception or self-awareness.
Given the impossibility of defining the beginning of philosophical personhood, it is necessary to rely on the biological definition of personhood, which begins at conception. Consequently, abortion should be prohibited since it constitutes the active termination of the lives of innocent human beings. Furthermore, it is untenable for a society to claim that human beings have rights if it permits abortion to be legal. The availability of abortion can result in a devaluation of human life, whereby individuals perceive life as disposable. The absence of recognition of the sanctity of life will result in a loss of moral compass and an indifference to the dignity of all humans.
Daniel Miller is responsible for nearly all of National Right to Life News' political writing.
With the election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, Daniel Miller developed a deep obsession with U.S. politics that has never let go of the political scientist. Whether it's the election of Joe Biden, the midterm elections in Congress, the abortion rights debate in the Supreme Court or the mudslinging in the primaries - Daniel Miller is happy to stay up late for you.
Daniel was born and raised in New York. After living in China, working for a news agency and another stint at a major news network, he now lives in Arizona with his two daughters.
