Termination of life (or not)

Not an unusual way to begin my blogging journey, this would be the last topic my mum would expect me to write about but.. why not?

Rather than arguing from one side of the outset, I want to argue the philosophical aspect of the question which divided humanity for centuries.

Pro-choice vs Pro-life.

When does life actually begin?

The pro-choice movement generally argues that the pregnant women has autonomy over her body and has the right to take any decision. Whereas the pro-life movement stands strong on moral right to life of the fetus. One side emphasizes life begins after birth and other over conception.

Behind this opposing side there is a deeper philosophical puzzle.

SO..

what is life?

When does the soul enter the body?

At what point do moral rights begin?

There is no universal answer yet, but our philosophy has tried.

The Great “When Does the Soul enter?” Debate

The following conversation is fictional but inspired by the actual ideas of them.

The Bhagavad Gita: “The soul is eternal. It is neither born nor dead, it merely takes on a new body.”

Garbha Upanishad: “Actually.. here’s a detailed fetal development timeline, around the 7th month of pregnancy, the soul fully animates the body.”

The Great “When Does the Soul enter?” Debate

Plato: “Reasonable. I can work with the Gita.”

Aristotle: “What an embarrassing display Master? Borrowing ideas from Indian scriptures instead of thinking.. The soul develops in stages first a vegetative soul, then an animal soul, and finally a rational human soul somewhere around 40–90 days, depending on gender… well, let’s just say I have some creative biology.”

Plato: “Interesting. Sounds like someone skimmed the “Garbha Upanishad” and called it OG.”

Thomas Aquinas: “Historically Aristotle came first, therefore he is right. “The Garbha” just reinvented the wheel and canonized it”

The Stoics: “You’re all overcomplicating this. The rational soul begins only after birth, when the newborn breathes air.”

Aristotle: “That is impressively absurd. If there’s no soul before birth, who’s making the fetus kick? Autopilot mode?”

And that’s philosophy in a nutshell. No final verdict just centuries of choosing which genius we find most convincing.

What does Indian law says?

Under India’s Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, abortion is legally permitted under specified conditions, with certain pregnancies eligible for termination up to 24 weeks of gestation. Both married and unmarried women have legal access to abortion services within the framework of the law.

Globally this picture is far from uniform. In several countries abortion is illegal. These laws are shaped by religious doctrines, political movements, historical legal systems and demographic concerns. Restrictive laws at many places have contributed to unsafe abortions by putting countless women’s lives at risk.

Freedom, Morality & Choice

Who gets to decide? is the ultimate question which I circle back to.

Should the state decide? Should religion? Should philosophy? Or the individual whose body and future are affected?

Every answer raises another question.

Where I stand?

I don’t have the definite answer but I claim I have a stand. Science tells us that living cells are in fact alive. But a group of cells is not necessarily equal to a fully developed human. Development is gradual, not instantaneous.

For me the characteristics such as heat beat and other significant stages marks a meaningful ethical distinction. Before these milestones, I believe abortion can be morally justifiable. After that point the ethical question becomes more complex.

I do understand that many people will disagree with this view, as they have disagreed for years. But the most fascinating part of this debate is the question has never been “Is abortion right or wrong ?” But

When does a human life become a person deserving moral rights?