From: gjh@galen.med.Virginia.EDU (Galen J. Hekhuis)
Subject: Re: Fetal Heartbeat (Re: Supreme Court)
Organization: University of Virginia Health Sciences Center
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 19:06:34 GMT

In article <1992Jul21.163226.12832@wuecl.wustl.edu> dgp@atlas.wustl.edu (Don Porter) writes:
}<1992Jul20.192606.14167@uceng.UC.EDU> (Gregory S Clausen) writes:
}>} Abortion Stops a Beating Heart.
}
}<1992Jul21.004136.9063@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU> (Galen J. Hekhuis) writes:
}> I thought we went over this before.  In the majority of abortions, 
}> there isn't even a "heart" to stop beating.  
}
}My sources say different.  Rather than argue the point directly, I'll 
}simply ask you:  When does the human heartbeat begin?

To be brief, the heart develops at a slightly variable time.
Exactly when it becomes a "heart" is dependent largely on 
your definition of "heart."  I've asked around here, and 
they say 14 days is stretching it a bit, to say the least.  
But I have also heard it asserted in this group that the 
heart is developed in 14 days.  Though I don't believe that,
lets go ahead and use that figure for the sake of argument.

You say your sources don't agree.

I imagine your disagreement is with the supposition that 
most abortions do not occur before the heart is developed.  
Even using the rather restrictive 14 day figure, this is 
obviously untrue.  Many forms of birth control are 
undesirable to some because of their nature of acting as an 
"abortificant."  That means that they act to cause abortion.  
Perhaps not your classic, clinical abortion, but abortion 
nonetheless.

The point is that abortion is much more common than some 
folks would have you believe.  "Natural" abortion, as 
opposed to "human directed" abortion is something that is 
ongoing right now, and will continue to occur whether or not 
any laws are made against it.  

Perhaps it would be correct to say that "abortion after the 
heart is developed stops a beating heart," or "clinical 
abortion often stops a beating heart" but to proclaim that
"abortion (with no modifiers) stops a beating heart" is to 
ignore reality.  Granted, it doesn't make as good a slogan 
to say that "<modifier> abortion stops a beating heart," but 
that is the way life is.  Often the facts do not fit our 
slogans well.

One of the ways in which a slogan such as "Abortion stops a 
beating heart," can be useful to someone who uses it is if 
it conjures up a notion in those that hear it that it isn't 
"abortion" per se, it is rather "abortion against which we 
intend to legislate."  Once the substitution is made for the 
term "abortion," it becomes less of a description and more 
of an emotional code word.

There are some here who would legislate against abortion.  
However they would not restrict birth control.  Legislation 
against "abortion" (while maybe not immediately) would 
include (in the eyes of some) legislation against various 
forms of birth control.  How do we define words?  By usage.

Legislation to restrict abortion may well be aimed at 
abortions that "stop a beating heart," but it is directed at 
"abortion," not stopping the beating heart.  

We can probably argue about whether or not a heart is 
stopped in the cases which would be affected by legislation 
vis-a-vis abortion.  I have little desire to do so.  

I would suggest, however, that "abortion" is hardly the 
"cut-and-dried" term that many people wish it were.  
"Abortion" encompasses many, many things.  What you find 
undesirable about abortion may not be the same as what the 
person next to you sees.  

--
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     Galen Hekhuis  UVa Health Sci Ctr (804)982-1646 gjh@virginia.edu
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Newsgroups: talk.abortion