Mistaking ‘actuality’ for ‘appearance’

Regarding abortion, Theodore Utchen (Dec. 1) discusses “potentiality” versus “actuality.” I think he mistakes actuality for appearance. A potential human being is in the egg and sperm.

Once they are untied, an actual human being comes into existence. This new human being, an embryo, has a different appearance than its next stage of development, a fetus. And so it continues.

A toddler does not look like a fetus or a teenager or an adult. This new human being remains a unique individual from its creation. One of the differences between a baby in the womb and a newborn is the newborn can breathe on its own.

In nearly everything else — nutrition, clothing, shelter — the newborn is entirely dependent on others and remains so for a good number of years. Abortion kills an actual, living human being.

Mary Ann Cronauer

Naperville