Are the Unborn Parasites? The Science Says No.

The unborn are not parasites. This might be obvious for some people, but unfortunately, this idea that the unborn are just parasites comes up all the time in our comment sections on our posts about abortion. This was the case on a recent video we just posted about how Margaret Sanger was an evil eugenicist who specifically targeted black people using abortion, which is all very true, by the way (you can watch the full video HERE).

We had a pro-choicer comment that totally disregarded anything that was said about Margaret Sanger, and instead said that the unborn are not valuable human beings; they are just parasites. Here's specifically what he said. "The definition of a parasite is anything that cannot live on its own and feeds off its hosts. Technically, medically, and scientifically, a fetus is a parasite. And until it is born and separated from its host, mom, it remains as such. THAT is the law of the living."

Now, I didn't know parasites have mothers, but we'll leave that aside for the moment. I want to provide you with my response and also his follow-up, as I believe it is very telling.

I said merely saying something is medically, technically, and scientifically the case just doesn't make it so. You have to argue for it. And unfortunately, in this case, he is just flat out wrong medically, scientifically, and technically.

First, the unborn belong to the same species as the mother, whereas parasites are almost always a different species from their host. And because the unborn and the mother are and because and because the mother and the unborn belong to the same species, this rules out parasitism entirely.

Second, it's through the placenta that human mothers provide nutrients to the unborn child. This is a natural process that reflects the mother-child relationship as symbiotic rather than parasitic. Moreover, the unborn child does not simply take from the mother, only extracting resources. Rather, the unborn can also send stem cells to the mother's tissues to help repair any damage during pregnancy.

Lastly, the mother undergoes necessary changes to care for and accommodate the unborn child's growth and development. This is not the case with parasites.

So the objection that the unborn are just parasites lacks any foundation scientifically, medically, and technically.

But I said to him, although I am a bioinformatics scientist, so I do think I have some say here, don't take it from me. Look at what biologists said in general in a large study done on when human life begins. This is a quote from a peer-reviewed study:

Since a recent study suggested that 80% of Americans view biologists as the group most qualified to determine when a human's life begins, experts in biology were surveyed to provide a new perspective to the literature on experts' views on this matter. Biologists from 1,058 academic institutions around the world assessed survey items on when a human's life begins and, overall, 96% (5337 out of 5577) affirmed the fertilization view.[1]

Human beings come into existence at the moment of conception. Conception is the beginning of a new human life. So it is wrong to intentionally kill an innocent human being. Abortion does just that through means of dismemberment, poisoning, and/or suffocation. Therefore, abortion is wrong. Here's how he responded: "He said it must be nice to live with such delusions of right and wrong go back to suckling the grossy orange man of you new Messiah."

I don't even really know what that means. I think he's referring to Trump because he said orange. I could be completely off there, but I'm just assuming that. But see, rather than coming back with any substance, with a substantial argument, he chooses to mock me. This is merely an ad hominem fallacy, attacking the person rather than the argument. And that says a lot about his view and the reasons he has for it (or lack thereof).

Please join me in praying for this person, that maybe his heart can be softened. Because here's the thing: abortion is not political. Abortion is literally a matter of life or death.

And unfortunately, since 1973, it has been the marker of death. It has been the marker of at least 62 million unborn innocent human beings being torn apart, poisoned, or suffocated in the womb legally in the United States alone.[2] And on a per-year basis, 72 million abortions take place across the globe.[3]

This is not just a political issue, though it's used as political weaponry; it's not a political issue. It's quite literally a matter of life or death. So please join me in praying for this person, but let us not back down and continue fighting for the protection of the unborn, who are human beings and certainly not parasites.

Footnotes

[1] Steven Andrew Jacobs, “The Scientific Consensus on When a Human’s Life Begins,” Issues in Law and Medicine 36, no. 2 (2021): 221-233. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36629778/.

[2] Scott Klusendorf, The Case for Life, 2nd ed. (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2023), 44.

[3] World Health Organization, “Abortions,” May 17, 2024. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/abortion