The famous Dr. Seuss story, Horton Hears a Who!, makes the rather convincing case that “A person is a person, no matter how small.” Horton the elephant finds a small flower that, to his great surprise, cries out for help. Even more to his surprise, it isn’t the flower that is speaking, but a tiny person he can’t see, who lives in a small village on the flower. The tiny person begs not to be destroyed. Horton promptly commits himself to the person, who is known as Who. Horton risks his very life for the life of Who. Why does he do this? Because he believes the tiny Who has a right to life. Size is no criteria for life.
There are thousands of unborn “ Who’s” who, even though they can’t speak, are crying out not to be destroyed. Many abortionists claim that an embryo cannot be alive at conception, it is too tiny─ microscopic even. But who cares what size it is? Since when have humans been described as five foot beings? Dwarfism is a condition of the bones that keeps humans from growing and developing properly. Adults with dwarfism are usually 3 1/2 to 4 feet tall. They are no less human. Size doesn’t make a difference in a human life.
It is a common argument for abortion that because unborn babies cannot support themselves outside their mother’s womb, they ought not be called persons. This is not a valid argument. People on life support cannot take care of themselves. Are we to say that they aren’t humans either? What about people in comas? Or how about people on heart medications or pacemakers? They can’t support themselves all alone either. The unborn baby simply relies on its mother for its protection. A toddler or small child does the same thing. If a small child falls and scrapes his knee, who’s usually the first person they call on? Their mother. Just because an unborn baby can’t support itself doesn’t mean they aren’t human.
It doesn’t look human. It’s too small. It has a tail. These are also false arguments for abortion. The fetus is small, but people come in all sizes and all stages of development. A two year old and an adult are different, but they are both human. Stage of development does not determine humanness! As for its tail, it is nothing more than the backbone and spine of the fetus. This “tail” never truly disappears. It is still there but as the body grows larger, it fits into place and no longer gives its appearance of a tail. Thus the “tail” is not a tail but the backbone!
In the words of Ronald Reagan, “Abortion is advocated only by the persons who have themselves been born.” People come from people; however, in the birth of modern technology and current culture, the world has seemed to forget this. Scientists have gotten too far ahead of themselves to appreciate the miracle of human life.
