What has influenced the diversity in Americans positions on abortion?
The impact of religion on abortion views boils down to the issue of whether the deliberate abortion of a fetus amounts to the killing of a human being. Since killing a human being is considered, in most cases, not only a religious sin, but also a secular crime, this issue evolves to that of when the fetus becomes a human being. While some sort of biological life obviously begins with conception, many do not consider the fertilized egg a human being, but they differ on when fetal viability and personhood are attained. The general consensus among those in favor of legal abortion is that fetal viability is not an issue until after the first trimester of pregnancy, since not until after that time can movement be felt within the womb and can the fetus have any chance to survive on its own. This notion has ancient historical roots. Aristotle (in Politics) wrote that abortion must be performed before the child has developed sensation and life; after that time, it is unlawful. Jeffrey L. Lenow
