Sir, – Fintan O'Toole drags up the old red herrings about early Christian theologians and early human life ("Anti-abortion 'zygopaths' make a mockery of equality", Opinion & Analysis, September 27th). Their views were, in fact, founded on the secular science of their times.
The human ovum was only discovered in the mid-19th century.
Up to then, the scientific view was that the male supplied the seed and the female supplied the fertile earth. They could see seeds in the earth rotting then springing forth to life from what had originally been considered inanimate material. In human terms, they thought “quickening” was the start of life.
The Catholic Church regarded abortion after quickening as homicide but also regarded it as seriously wrong in the supposed inanimate stage.
However, we are now living in the 21st century and science has advanced considerably. We now know that the new human being is there and alive from when the sperm and ovum fuse. He or she is programmed for life with an inheritance from both parents and is undoubtedly human. The development of life within the womb is as wonderful to behold as the newborn child’s development through all stages up to adulthood.– Yours, etc,
JOHN O’REILLY,
Dublin 2.
Sir, – Fintan O’Toole states “A zygote is a set of instructions for the creation of a human person.” He then goes on to state that “We don’t confuse a computer or a car with its operational manual – and it is far, far worse to confuse a human being in all her glorious complexity with the biological equivalent of an Ikea assembly guide.”
I have never seen an operational manual evolve into a computer or a car, or an Ikea assembly guide become a piece of furniture. – Yours, etc,
JOSEPH MACKEY,
Athlone,
Co Westmeath.