Friday, October 28, 2022

A human zygote

It is what it is.

If we are going to put so much mental energy into this, let's see it.

We cannot look at a photograph of a fertilized human egg or a zygote or an embryo without fitting it in a narrative. We don't see it.  We see it in context. A zygote is a biological thing, a social thing, a personal history thing, a religious thing, a political thing. Amid all the narrative and complexities of thought around the thing, there is the thing itself. 

Even that is false. The zygote isn't what we see. Everything important about it--the zygote--is unseen. It is alive. Living things are more than what we see physically.

Still, stripped of all the narrative and complexities there is a physical thing. Let's look at it as if we had no idea what it was, with fresh eyes, without context. 

The photographs are from MYA Network, and The Guardian.


Five weeks:


Six weeks:



Seven weeks: 


Eight weeks:


Nine weeks:


Composite:



No commentary from me. Just observe. Let the context and meaning that rushes to mind come independently. First, just see.


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9 comments:

David in Ashland said...

It looks to me like a well-formed mass broken up into one big mess, which is precisely what happens whenever you put something precious into the hands of Democrats who are hell bent on destroying all that is good, and beautiful, and right with the world. Because, after all, "it ain't nuthin' but a Thangg".

Mike said...

Referring to the zygote as a “thing” is commentary enough. As we can see, it’s far from being human and before it becomes fully developed, much can go wrong. For example, it could develop anencephaly – the absence of a cranial vault. It’s truly bizarre that politicians are allowed to dictate whether such a pregnancy may be terminated, rather than allowing a woman and her physician to make that decision.

David in Ashland said...

She don't wanna a baby that looks like that
I don't wanna a baby that looks like that

Body, I'm not an animal
Body, an abortion
Body, I'm not an animal
Body, I'm not an animal
An animal
I'm not an animal
I'm not an animal, an animal, an-an-an animal
I'm not a body
I'm not an animal, an animal, an-an-an animal
I'm not an animal
Mummy! Uh!

David in Ashland said...

Peter, you are a neutered cat, on big fat pussy. Shows how much Integrity you have posting that and not the previous one

Up Close: Road to the White House said...

I declined to publish an earlier comment by the anonymous "David in Ashland" because he made an insulting reference to a local person by name.

If David wants anonymous comments published he needs to mind his manners. If he wants to be insulting and snarky then he needs to use his full name and allow me to identify him. His call. People who take responsibility for their comments have more latitude than do anonymous people.

Peter Sage

David in Ashland said...

Do you mean this one Peter that doesn't mention anyone's name and is strictly within the content frame of this post?
It looks to me like a well-formed mass broken up into one big mess, which is precisely what happens whenever you put something precious into the hands of Democrats who are hell bent on destroying all that is good, and beautiful, and right with the world. Because, after all, "it ain't nuthin' but a Thangg".

Herbert Rothschild said...

If people are polled about abortion in an either/or way, our country seems far more divided on this issue than it is. Only recently have news stories on the subject of abortion reported what we really think. Not many of us are concerned about protecting the zygote. Zygotes die if an IUD prevents them from attaching to the uterine wall. They die in fertility labs because those labs keep far more of them than are eventually implanted in their women clients. And huge numbers die from spontaneous rejection. The unspoken fact is that God/Nature is the great abortionist. On the other hand, there is a similar degree of consensus about late-term abortions, which most of us only favor if it is a medical necessity. I think this degree of consensus testifies to our good emotional intelligence. Framing the abortion issue as a rights issue makes it almost impossible to display moral intelligence. Framing it as a care issue allows us to express our concern both for the mother and the unborn.

Anonymous said...

It is moral for women to have agency over their own lives. What is immoral is to subjugate women based on their pregnancy status. It is my body and pregnancy is not a contagious disease. Enough already from the half of the population that has no clue about women's lives and women's bodies. In some ways we are just like Iran, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan. Repeat: Enough already

Anonymous said...

To All the Pregnant Women and Girls, All the best whatever you decide (abortion will never go away, legal or not).

To Everyone Else, Mind your own business.