ing" (in some translations, "a living soul"). The Hebrew word for human being or living person is nephesh, which is also the word for "breathing." Nephesh occurs hundreds of times in the Bible as the identifying factor in human life. This is consistent with the opinion of modem medical science. A group of 167 distinguished scientists and physicians told the Supreme Court in 1989 that "the most important determinant of viability is lung development," and that viability is not achieved significantly earlier than at twenty-four weeks of gestation because critical organs, "particularly the lungs and kidneys, do not mature before that time."(1) In the scriptures the Incarnation, or "the Word made flesh," was celebrated at the time of Jesus' birth, not at a speculative time of conception. We follow the biblical tradition today by counting age from the date of birth rather than from conception, a date people do not know or seek to estimate. The state issues birth certificates, not conception certificates. Fifty-one percent of all abortions in the United States occur before the 8th week of pregnancy; more than 91 percent occur before the 12th week (in the first trimester); and more than 99 percent occur before 20 weeks, which is about 4 weeks before the time of viability (when 10 to 15 percent of fetuses can be saved by intensive care). In such cases of early abortion there is no fetal neocortex, and hence no pain. However, every termination of potential human life presents a moral problem and can be justified only by the damage to living persons that may result from an unacceptable pregnancy. Contraception (birth control), the practice of which can greatly reduce the number of abortions, involves the prevention of conception, ovulation, or implantation in the uterus. The Vatican's position that all sexual activity must allow the possibility of procreation has led the antiabortion movement to be silent about contraception as a way to prevent t...
