Marco Rubio Mentions When Life Begins According to Science; Washington Post Looks for Answers With Pro-Abortion Group
The Washington Post was criticized for publishing a "fact checking" article on what science says about when life begins by only consulting a pro-choice organization.
"Let me give you a bit of settled science that [liberals will] never admit to. Science is settled, it's not even a consensus, it is a unanimity, that human life begins at conception," Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said May 14 on "The Sean Hannity Show."
"So I hope the next time that someone wags their finger about science," he continued, "they'll ask one of these leaders on the left: 'Do you agree with the consensus of scientists that say that human life begins at conception?' I'd like to see someone ask that question."
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In response, Philip Bump wrote an article for "The Fix," a Washington Post politics blog, called, "Marco Rubio demanded people look at the science on abortion. So we did."
For the article, Bump interviewed Hal Lawrence III, M.D., executive vice president and CEO of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Based upon that interview, Bump concludes that there is a "blurry line between 'pregnancy' and 'life.'"
Even though Lawrence is the only medical expert mentioned in the article, Bump says that the "scientific experts," plural, "didn't offer any consensus" on when life begins. Bump continued to use the plural, "experts," on Twitter, but there is no indication that he spoke to more than one person.
In an article for The Federalist called, "The Washington Post is Super Confused About Where Babies Come From," Mollie Hemingway wonders why Bump would only consult an activist pro-legalized-abortion organization, a fact never mentioned in his article, and ignore the scientific consensus of embryo experts.
The consensus among embryologists, Hemingway points out (summary available here, here and here), is that a life, a distinct human being, is created when a sperm and egg combine to create a genetically distinct individual. And, a woman is pregnant when she has a new life inside her, not when that new life becomes implanted in the wall of her uterus.
In response to Bump's article, Students for Life of America began a petition asking the ACOG to acknowledge when life begins.
The petition reads: "As those who bring precious life into this world, you must acknowledge that human life begins the moment a mother's egg and father's sperm unite, creating an unique, whole, living, distinct human being that has never before existed and will never again. We know this is proven, scientific fact. Stop evading the question of when life begins and purposely creating confusion to protect an abortion agenda. As the recognized authority on pregnancy and birth, it is crucial that you submit yourself to the science of human embryology and acknowledge when life begins - the very moment of fertilization."
