Thanks and Merit to both of you for your comments. Christian, it is good to see you at the forum after a while.
The issue in question is a valid one. There are countless abortions taking place today.
- Taking any life must be avoided. However, taking a human life is MUCH worse than killing an animal. That is because it is very difficult to get a human life. Even after being born in the human realm (as a human gandhabba), one must be born with a physical body (with a brain) to be able to understand complex issues, especially Buddha Dhamma.
- Having a physical human with a brain is important because the brain slows down our responses to external sensory inputs. That and the presence of the neocortex in the brain gives a human a unique ability to think while responding to such external stimuli. That makes it possible to change our gati (habits/character). See “Truine Brain: How the Mind Rewires the Brain via Meditation/Habits.”
- Thus, while it is extremely rare for a birth in the human realm, it is even more difficult to be born with a physical body. That is why killing a fetus is much worse than even killing thousands of animals.
- See “Buddhist Explanations of Conception, Abortion, and Contraception” and “Cloning and Gandhabba” for details on how a baby is conceived.
- Most people today think a baby is not “human” until it is born after nine months in a womb. In fact, many are trying to legalize abortion even to the last day and even just after the baby is born. That is immoral and is a heinous crime, just like killing an adult. A human life (gandhabba) must enter a womb before a baby can start to grow.
- P.S. Buddha Dhamma does not condone having sex before marriage. But if one must have sex, it is easy to avoid getting pregnant by using condoms. Once a gandhabba enters a womb, that baby’s life is no different than any other human life.
