“Last August, Pastor Rick Warren stumped then-Sen. Barack Obama with a seemingly simple question. ‘At what point,’ asked Warren, ‘does a baby get human rights, in your view?’ ‘Well, I think that whether you’re looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade,’ said Obama. It turns out, however, that an even simpler question once stumped the very person Obama now pays to give him advice about science: When does a human become a ‘human being’? John P. Holdren is director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. In 1973, he co-authored a book — ‘Human Ecology: Problems and Solutions’ — with Paul Ehrlich and Anne Ehrlich. … The Ehrlichs and Holdren conclude … by noting that legal scholars do not believe humans are constitutionally recognized as ‘persons’ until they are born. But the authors don’t clarify when exactly, in their view, a developing member of the species homo sapiens ultimately turns into an actual ‘human being.’ … The first meaning of ‘being,’ according to the Webster’s Online dictionary, is ‘the quality or state of having existence.’ By definition, as soon as a human exists, he or she is a ‘human being.’ The abortionist, whose evil cause the White House science adviser championed, may succeed in terminating a human being’s life on this planet. Undoing that child’s humanity or the existence of his immortal soul are — as Obama himself might put it — above his pay grade.” –CNS News editor in chief Terence Jeffrey
4 Aug
