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流產 |
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莫衷一是
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傳統上，有關生死攸關問題的道德準則由各種既定的宗教和哲學體系予以詮釋。可是，所詮釋的觀點並不始終如一。更有甚者，某些宗教和哲學體系既反對流產也反對避孕。依許多旁觀者來看，這似乎不合邏輯。當代某些宗教團體在某種情況下和對早期妊娠流產持支持態度，而其他的宗教團體則不分皂白地反對流產，把每一次流產看作一次謀殺（為了救助孕婦的生命除外，這種案例是正當防衛）。一些教堂主張“從受精那一瞬間”一個胚胎就是一個生命。可是，科學家們不同意應該推測這樣的特殊瞬間在什麼時候發生和是否發生。在某種程度上，這是一個定義的問題。按科學的原理來說，人類的懷孕最好不要被描述成一個忽然的事件，而是要認定為一個逐漸的、複雜的過程；這個過程開始於卵子與精子的融合，並由此經歷受精卵的各個分裂時期，最後生長中的胚泡植入子宮內膜。這個過程決不是自動的，它依許多不會始終存在的相關特殊條件而定。從某種程度上說，這個過程的演變將發生全然不同的轉化，如果沒有（胚泡）植入過程發生，受精卵只會分解。因此，按照一般的醫學慣例，我們不用懷孕（conception）來表達，而是說：直到植入子宮內膜後，妊娠才開始發生。 |
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Abortion |
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Differing Views
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Moral guidance in life-and-death matters has traditionally been offered by the various established religions and philosophies. However, their views are not always identical. Moreover, some of them oppose both abortion and contraception. This seems illogical to many outside observers. Some contemporary religious groups favor abortions under certain circumstances and early in the pregnancy, while others are unconditionally opposed to them, considering every abortion to be murder (except to save the life of the mother, in which case it would be self-defense). Some churches maintain that an embryo is a human life "from the moment of conception." However, scientists do not agree as to whether and when such a particular moment should be presumed to occur. In a way, it is a matter of definition.
Scientifically speaking, the conception of a human being is best described not as a sudden occurrence but as a gradual, complicated process which begins with the union of an egg and a sperm cell and leads through various stages to the eventual attachment of a growing cell cluster to the uterine wall. This process is by no means automatic. It depends on a number of interrelated special conditions which are not always present. In some cases, the development takes an entirely different turn, no implantation occurs, and the fertilized egg simply degenerates. Consequently, according to general medical usage, we do not speak of a conception, i.e. the beginning of pregnancy until the implantation in the uterus has taken place. |
