LeliaThomas.Com

Elements of Human Contradition: The Issues of Abortion, the Death Penalty and Cloning

There is something unfortunately very human about contradiction. We contradict ourselves, sometimes causing harm in our own lives or the lives of others. Even our languages reflect contradiction in the form of sarcasm or irony. To some degree, our contradictive behavior is to be expected and simply something one has to deal with throughout life. Yet I believe it is important that we at least realize our own contradictions help prevent problems in society.

Right now there are three issues that I simply cannot get my head around. To many, they are completely unrelated issues. To me, they’re so unbelievably intertwined that I find myself disturbed. What are these three issues?

Abortion, cloning, and the death penalty. (Euthanasia is dying—pardon the pun—to mix itself with that lot as well.)

Can no one else see the terrible irony that these three issues hold within themselves, considering they’re all current hot topics? Let me explain; it will make sense in the conclusion—promise.

Abortion

I am mostly pro-life in my beliefs—mainly because I hear of far too many women using abortion as a form of very-late “contraception,” rather than as a last choice for health or emotional reasons—but I do not believe abortion should be entirely banned. (Cases where the mother’s life is in danger, known birth defects, rape, teen pregnancy: they’re all valid reasons to at least keep the procedure around, I believe.)

But let’s look at the simple, factual reality of abortion from a societal standpoint.

Pros

• Keeps populations in check.
• Whether right or wrong, is mostly used by communities where social problems already exist. There is a possible statistical correlation between decreasing crime rates and the legalization of abortion.
• Eliminates the possibility of a child growing up unwanted in his home. May, in turn, lower levels of mental illness in society due to abuses unwanted children may have to endure. More affordable for society on a number of levels, in turn.
• Provides people with the power and freedom of choice in the hopes of long-term peace and contentment.
• May keep some children out of the turmoil of needing to be adopted and living in foster homes.

Cons

• Gives some men and women (and young adults) false security in regard to casual sex and the ability to remain single, carefree and childless. Promotes, on some level, irresponsibility for one’s actions.
• Risk missing out on someone important to humanity. It’s an odd notion, I know, but I always wonder just how many amazing adults (along with their creations and inventions) we’ve lost in the name of “unwanted pregnancy” that ended in abortion.
• Known to have many adverse side effects on women’s bodies; many have trouble conceiving later in life, when they want to. Much higher risk of depression and suicide for women who have had an abortion. (More information.)
• Robs a real human being of his right to life, choice and pursuit of happiness. Cause? Nonexistence. This is in contrast to the point above that gives someone choice and freedom.
• Unlike adoption, it is permanent. You will never experience the life of that child again. There will be no getting in touch with him down the road.

Right now, in most developed countries, abortion is legal in some form or fashion; likewise, abortion has been in existence for centuries, both legally and illegally. Whether that is right or wrong is really only for the majority of a nation to decide, I believe, but let’s move on.

Death Penalty

Most developed nations have abolished the death penalty. In a morbid way, when I see that, along with the fact that most allow abortion, I cannot help but laugh. Why? Because you are questioning the innocents’ rights of life, and yet giving it to some of the foulest, most wretched people we have on this planet (like repeat child molesters). Anyone else sensing the irony yet?

And before anyone yammers on about how life in prison is so much worse than death: I might agree, if we (as in the people, as in society) would stop giving criminals more rights behind bars. If you want them to have a long and insufferable existence in jail, stop fights for their “rights” to nutritional dinners three times a day, television, porn and conjugal visits.

I cannot fathom how there are some people who will fight tooth and nail in favour of abortion, then turn around and talk about the human and civil rights of those who have raped and murdered. That is the epitome of contradictive behaviour to me.

Pros

• Once again, keeps the population down. Moreover, provides more room in overstuffed prisons. The worst go the way of the dodo, while the lesser evils are locked up for a while.
• Means that a criminal will never harm society again. There is no chance for parole. I think this is one of the best arguments for the death penalty today, seeing as how we appear to be very willing to give life sentences with parole after 15 or so years. And, I don’t know about the rest of you, but last I heard, prison was not a rehabilitation centre, so we basically just put the same people back into society. Really smart!

Cons

• Treats the symptom, not the disease. Removes the possibility of rehabilitation for a criminal. Also removes the societal desire for there to be any rehabilitation of criminals, period. Moreover, who gets to decide what is evil enough for someone to be killed for it?
• Morally, and even evolutionarily, puts the just on the same level as the criminal. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. Backwards thinking.

Cloning

Meanwhile, as some are arguing for abortion and against the death penalty, we have just as many people arguing for and against cloning. Anyone else think we’re playing “God” here?

Pros

• Can provide us with higher quality food—better meat, better vegetables—because on the best genes get cloned.
• Food could become cheaper for impoverished countries.
• Could help us eliminate diseases in certain livestock animals.
• The ability to perhaps repair people’s terrible injuries by cloning their organs, rather than trying to depend on organ donations, which their bodies may or may not reject.
• Endangered species would be better able to survive.
• A family who has lost a pet or child could essentially get him or her back.

Cons

• Can it provide us with higher quality food, especially meats? Most animals have been shown to die abnormally young and sick, when cloned. Even if slaughtered before this untimely death, do any such abnormalities that cause these strange events in the cloned animals carry over to the humans who are eating them?
• Food might still be expensive for impoverished countries, considering the science and efforts behind cloning. It took over 270 tries before they cloned Dolly. Not exactly a successful run, especially considering Dolly also died terribly (lung disease and rapid aging).
• By eliminating some diseases, do we actually put ourselves at risk? Without some exposure, we lose our chances for building natural immunity against certain diseases, infections, allergies, etc. What would then happen if we were exposed to these diseases later? Natural genetic evolution and immunity—the good, the bad and the ugly of it all—is what has worked for all time. What gives us the right to “fix” it?
• The “human repair kit” is only in theory. How long will they last in the body? Do they have the same sort of lifespan that original organs have? In recent years, we’ve barely been able to get the cloned embryos past a handful of cell divides. If it does occur, will organ cloning be where we stop, or will the concept of cloning ourselves to harvest organs be the next step? Who will have the right to decide this? Companies?
• You must have “nearly perfect” DNA for cloning an endangered species. You then must wonder if continuing the species, without a larger group of naturally-born animals for it to be surrounded by, will matter. How will they learn to be independent and part of the animal kingdom, when they’ve been brought up via the science lab?
• Is it ethical to simply clone a lost child or pet? What will this do to natural reproduction, if anything? What will this do to, say, adoption? Who will have the right to clone, and will there be any limitations at all? Will cloning people make us desire to perfect ourselves and those we say we love?

Cloning is still a highly speculative field, whether you ultimately agree with the core concepts or not. However, it cannot be denied that cloning, even at its basest forms, has really brought up issues regarding ethics.

The thing that concerns me about abortion, the death penalty and cloning is that—arguments for and against all three aside—we are fallible humans. We’ve made some of the greatest inventions, painted some of the most beautiful paintings and walked on the moon, but we’ve also made the atomic bomb, churned out Holocausts of varying degrees and squashed the rights of the innocent due to prejudice, and we still struggle with some of the most basic matters, such as getting along with each other and being honourable people.

Given the fact that, on a scale of one to 10, we have a track record of somewhere around six, I worry that we don’t educate ourselves enough in these three matters and listen to the arguments for and against each of them. Without being willing to hear arguments from both sides, we will undoubtedly miss the truths that are almost always in the grey areas of life.

We contradict ourselves in supporting one or two of the things above, but not another, and yet many of us don’t even see that. There is logic to be found in each of the items above, as well as tragedy, and until we learn to accept that, and realize our own contradicting beliefs, we risk everything.

Comments ordered from oldest to newest.

Edrei

Hmm…I’ll try not to step on your toes here but I’ll give my points based on the facts that I know.

Death Penalty:
In Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia the death penalty by hanging is still in effect for drug traffickers. The biggest advantage to this isn’t the fact that the criminal doesn’t do this again, but it serves as the ultimate deterrent against something really bad. I actually agree with capital punishment because it serves it purposes not just to punish those that commit severe crimes, but to stop future crimes from being committed.

Cloning:
Now, I’m in the business where cloning is part of what I do and I can tell you that whatever the media portrays of cloning is…well…painted fiction. Cloning for the most part serves us in real life as a way to increase plant breeds of a single type. It’s easy to do this rather than say animals, much less human beings.

Cloning gives you the twin of the parent. It does not corrupt its DNA in any way. Reports of a shortened life span is due to many possibilities one of which because telomeres (which acts as the ends of shoestrings on the DNA and plays no significant role in protein production in the animal) may be shorter since they come from an adult animal. Telomeres are related to the aging process and because they are older, hence they might have shorter lifespans. None of which affects other parts of the genes.

Also because cloning allows you to create a genetic twin, how they grow up depends on how they were raised. Much like real twins grow up differently if they are raised separately. It’s not determined by your genes, just your environment, so really while human cloning can be a little too far fetched for now, animals would be pretty safe on this one too (when we figure out how to reverse the aged telomeres on the ends of the cloned chromosomes).

We can however combine cloning with other technologies. A promising future lies in what’s called Tissue Engineering where organs are built with a combination of classic tissue culturing and nanotechnology. Cloning is just one way of understanding how things work, it’s how we use it that makes all the difference.

Abortion:
A touchy subject because it can get a little personal so I will be brief. I’m all for it primarily because I do not believe that sentient life starts from the moment the egg was fertilized. There should be regulated rules of course, but people should have the choice. I wouldn’t raise a child in a world where I can’t even support myself, but there are other ways to help humanity, but that touches a different subject entirely.

What I’ve wrote here, I’m doing it off the top of my head. It’s pretty late and I think some points are a little vague. I have written on the ethical side of such actions before for one of my assignments, thankfully I posted it on my blog which can be found here. It’s about stem cell research and therapeutic cloning. I hope it paints a different perspective for you.

In any case, if there is just so much we can discuss on this. If you like, I don’t mind hearing your points in detail as well. Give me a buzz.

Lelia

Don’t worry. You don’t step on my toes. :) The only way people could ever step on my toes, even in these sorts of issues, is to be a total radical, whatever their belief is. On a personal level, I’m for the death penalty, partially for abortion and partially for cloning (plants and parts of things, yea; animals and humans, nay).

The problem I have with all three is much the same, however, as stated in my conclusion. Where do we stop and draw the line? Who decides what is ethical? And even then, in regard to my belief that abortion should be determined by the majority opinion of a nation, is the popular opinion the “right” opinion? Everyone has different opinions, and in general, even if I disagree I can respect a differing opinion, provided my opinion can be respected as well. My only concern is that far too many of us go headlong into a subject, seeing only black or white, and miss quite a lot in the process.

Christina

It’s refreshing to see somebody sorting out abortion logically and systematically, though I’d have to challenge a few assumptions. Why, for example, ought it to be okay to abort a fetus because he has a disability? Where is tolerance, diversity, and respect for those with disabilities in the postulate that a fetus with a disability has less value than a healthy fetus?

Imagine for a moment if scientists identified a “gay gene”. What would it say about a person’s real beliefs about gays and lesbians if that person, for all their talk of tolerance and inclusion, insisted that aborting a fetus for having the “gay gene” needs to be an option?

Lelia

Christina, while I see your point, I think it should be noted that people are already tampering with their children (with some success), in attempts to have certain eye colours, hair colour, etc.

But in terms of abortion when it comes to disability, I think it could be argued two ways. The first way would be your argument: where is the tolerance and love for people with problems? I think that’s a reasonable question, but the second argument is a bit bigger, I think. Not everyone who feels they can afford to have a child would feel they could afford (the time and money) of a disabled child; cruel notion, I think, but a true one, nonetheless. Then there are some who would feel it would be unfair to the child to live a disabled life; there is some merit to that, knowing the frustration, pain and ridicule that some disabled children experience, even with modern medication.

Personally, if I knew I was going to have a disabled child, I would also feel very uncomfortable with it if I already had other children. I have known some people who have had a disabled sibling, and sometimes (a lot of times?) parents have trouble balancing the extra attention needed for the disabled child and the attention they need to give their other children. I think that is honestly unfair to the other children. I cannot say what feelings I would ultimately have in such a situation–and hope I never have to deal with it, in truth–but that’s how I see it at this point.

I think all of us, myself included, can say a lot in regard to abortion and other hot topics, but until we’re in some of these situations, we can’t fully imagine their depth (one of the reasons I cannot support the complete ban of abortion).

Christina

I think all of us, myself included, can say a lot in regard to abortion and other hot topics, but until we’re in some of these situations, we can’t fully imagine their depth (one of the reasons I cannot support the complete ban of abortion).

Actually, it was the fact that I nearly ended up on the abortion table myself that was pivotal in bringing me to a strong anti-abortion stand. I know the fear, the despair, the feeling of being utterly trapped, of trying to screw up the courage to do something I absolutely didn’t want to do, but thought was an inescapable necessity. Fortunately, a friend with a cooler head prevailed. He saw the real problem — that we needed to move to a better apartment! Such a simple thing! A different friend, and I’d be one of the women holding an “I Regret My Abortion” sign instead of the mom of a strapping young man. Presenting abortion absolves society of offering any real help. It’s a one-size-fits-all that’s easy for everybody except the woman.

And there’s no evidence people with disabilities are any more or less happy than other people. I worked with people with severe, profound developmental and physical disabilities, and it was an amazing experience. I’ve moved on, but my heart is still back with folks that sadly, many people would look at with nothing but pity and perhaps a moment of lamentation that these folks had made it out of the womb alive. The institution logically should have been a dismal, depressing place, but I found amazing joy there. I saw people worthy of not just respect but admiration. I think our worship of intellect and physical prowess blind us to other kinds of contributions people can make. Though the folks there needed a lot of support in terms of daily living activities, they gave so much back in ways you can’t understand until you’ve been there.

I think of M. When M loved you, you stayed loved. Stressed-out staff from other apartments, when they were having a bad day, would come to the apartment where M lived and ask, “Where’s my lovin’?” M would laugh and run and the staff person would chase him and catch him and M would do this little head-rub thing and the staff person would just walk out on Cloud Nine. You can’t quantify that. You can’t measure it with an IQ test. There’s no Olympic event for it. There’s no think-tank analyzing it. But though it’s been seven years since I’ve seen M, on a bad day I can think back and remember being with him and my spirits are lifted.

We need to stop looking at people in terms of what they aren’t. It’s like looking at the hole and missing the donut.

Bruce

World estimations of the number of terminations carried out each year is somewhere between 20 and 88 million.(likely 55 to 60)

Over 3,500 per day / Over 1.3 million per year in America alone.

50% of that 1.3 million claimed failed birth control was to blame.

A further 48% had failed to use any birth control at all.

And 2% had medical reasons.

That means a staggering 98% of unwanted pregnancies may have been avoided had an effective birth control been used.

I am a 98% pro-lifer, 2% Pro-choicer, who has no religious convictions at all . I didn’t need the fear of god or anything else to come to my decision, just a good sense of what is right and wrong.
You see we were all once a fetus. Is it beyond the realm of possibilities that when your mother first learned she was carrying you, she may have considered her options? What if she had decided to terminate? Would that have been OK?
You would not exist, if you have children they would not exist, and your (husband or wife) would be married to someone else. You would have been deprived of all your experiences and memories. In this day and age with terminations being so readily available and so many being carried out, if you make it to full term you can consider yourself lucky.
Lucky you had a mother that made the choice of life for you.

Don’t you think they all deserve the same basic human right, LIFE?

At the point of conception is when life began for you. This was the start of your existence. Your own personal big bang. Three weeks after conception heart started to beat. First brain waves recorded at six weeks after conception. Seen sucking thumb at seven weeks after conception.

Though it pains me to say it , there may always be a need for the 2% medical reasons and such, but that’s all.

So how do we get the other 98% to be responsible……………….

How do we get them to be honest with themselves, about when life begins.

egg+sperm = human being

Sadly many prefer an occasional abortion, over using birth control, they have all kinds of reasons, each of them selfish.

Then there’s the christian impossition,and their men in high places.(all a bit talibanish, church and state should never entwine) their stance against birth control has only added to the numbers.

People should be able to choose to use birth control, to avoid having to make another choice.

I’d like to see effective birth control made available to all who can’t afford it.

Sanity must provale, abortions should remain available and safe to the 2% and such, and the rest need to have a good look at themselves and get their act together.

I’d also like to see a 4D ultrasound in every clinic to provide a more informed choice,
before going through with something they may regret.

If you think the point of conception is NOT when life begins, and all you have is a clump of cells and not a living human being.
Then at least concider this -

Soon after you were conceived you were no more than a clump of cells.
This clump of cells was you at your earliest stage, you had plenty of growing to do but this clump of cells was you none the less.
Think about it.
Aren’t you glad you were left unhindered…. to develope further.
Safe inside your mother’s womb until you were born.

Lelia

I’m glad you feel like life led you on the right path. I certainly cannot fathom what women must feel like when they regret abortion; however, not everyone I know of who has had an abortion has regretted it (yet; they may down the road, granted). In all of the cases I have personally been around/known of, I could not condone its reasoning, yet it was not my decision, by law, nor do I think it should be. I am not the mother, but I do think unborn children should be given more credit. We were all that supposedly unfeeling “bit” before, and I think that, at the very least, should count for something in law and in the decision making of abortions. I especially dislike the world’s view of counseling when it comes to abortion, as its rarely unbiased (on both sides). But then, what is?

Also, while I understand your view of working with children with disabilities, I think you missed some of my other points, including the financial and attention issues.

Lelia

I think people are missing 2/3 of this article. That is fascinating to me.

Anyway…

Bruce, on the one hand I like your comment, because you bring to the table something that I feel is important: the untrue idea that anyone who is pro-life is religious; I wish more people would realize that. On the other hand, I dislike your comment, because you made it a bit personal–wrongfully–because, I’m assuming, you didn’t read this entire entry. I often point out the pros and cons of all things, no matter my personal beliefs on a matter. I was not arguing for or against abortion; in fact, I stated that I am almost always pro-life (I’d say your 98% to 2% stance is pretty well where I stand as well).

I think you got it right when you said selfishness is often involved in a large chunk of these issues. Selfishness is at the root of most of our world’s problems–always has been, always will be. People think for themselves, and think in the moment. Dangerous thing, that.

Barbara

Book Recommendation - This book changed my views about the Death Penalty and is a heartfelt story. “Journey Toward Justice” Now on Amazon.com as Top Seller, Published by Seven Locks Press 2006 by Dennis Fritz is a memoir and John Grisham calls Compelling and Fascinating. Dennis Fritz is the real character in John’s Grisham’s Book The Innocent Man. The Innocent Man mostly is about his co-defendant Ronnie Williamson who was sentenced to death. Dennis Fritz who was sentenced to life behind bars and Ronnie Williamson were exonerated in 1999 after 12 desperate and tortuous years in prison, Ronnie Williamson passed away a few years later.. Thanks to The Innocence Project and Barry Scheck who were helpful in getting DNA testing needed that proved Fritz was innocent after serving 12 years in prison.. Dennis Fritz does not want only to be known as the man who was wrongly imprisoned for a murder with NO evidence against him. This story would interest everyone who has, are going to have a career in Law.
There is much more to his story never told before in his book. He says he witnessed miracles and actually heard God’s voice telling him “TRUST ME”. He solely relied on faith in God to make it through. This Book will make you think, This can happen to anyone of us. A Great book showing what Faith, Love and Hope can do.. .. Miracles.

Please visit me at http://barbarasblogspot.blogspot.com/

Lelia

…and John Grisham calls Compelling and Fascinating.

That means nothing to me. For one, I’m not a Grisham fan. Secondly: marketing ploy. Blurbs are common and mean nothing in publishing.

There is much more to his story never told before in his book. He says he witnessed miracles and actually heard God’s voice telling him “TRUST ME”. He solely relied on faith in God to make it through.

Yeah…

The case of innocence you mention this book as featuring is both common and uncommon, alike. Yet, with DNA and forensics where they are, I would say due process is alive and well and can prove the innocent as innocent…if they are, indeed, innocent. In that case, then, yes, of course I am against the death penalty, because the guy’s bloody well innocent: you don’t off the good guys! Duh.

However, I’m rather fond of the idea of our publicly hanging a pedophile. Personal opinion (but I think it’s one of my few damn good ones).

Bruce

lelia……….thank’s…..point taken………I have trouble explaining something I don’t agree with……..I’m a simple man with a message to anyone who wants it .
Someone might ‘get it ” and then I’ve made a difference. Someone might get to live that wouldn’t have.

Have you seen :
The Manipulation of ‘Post-Abortion Syndrome’: Part Two:
by Marcy Bloom ?
comments are also a good read.

Superking

Found your site via unmatchedstyle gallery. Some ppl think it’s contradictory for pro-lifers (no, not anti-abortionists) to support capital punishment. They like to take complicated issues to fit their microcosmic worldview. Once they go a bit beyond that, they will discover that your post will begin to make sense.
What seems illogical to me is having society spend billions to house career criminals in an overpopulated prison system, then releasing less dangerous criminals back into society, then reasoning how performing abortions keeps down the population and unwanted children. Talk about trying to solve the effects rather than the causes.

Joshua

I recently read an article from a book which explained how Gene manipulation (and human cloning) is an imminent technology bound to become reality in the not so distant future. It reasoned that biotechnology is beyond the grips of our government’s control. The only technologies our government can control are the expesive ones (like nuclear technology). Other than that, I cannot think of much else that our government has successfully kept the public from using and abusing. So how can they possibly control cloning? Corporations do whatever, and practically own the Goverment these days.

My argument is that we already cannot control illegal abortions, so how can we expect to prevent prople from wanting genetic manipulations? honestly, control is just an illusion. Drugs are everywhre. Rich people are going to want to make sure their kids aren’t (retarded, disabled, etc…) and they’re not going to care if they have to do it illegally.

I believe that while many of these future technologies are immoral, why should the government control them? If the people do not have the right to be immoral, then how is the government /not/ playing God? I guess that makes me a radical for believing the government shouldnt have any control over its people… Sorry for the toes!

Rose

I’ve had an abortion.

Why didn’t you write anythng about ectopic pregnancies? It is life threatening to the pregnant woman. It can happen to all women of all ages. I was 22 FYI when it happened to me.

Abortion is an awful, awful thing for anyone to go through. No woman ever wants to have to face that decision. It’s not some frivolous thing people do. Just like any other medical procedure women do it out of necessity and choice, and it’s not a fun ride in the park.

Abortion is not wrong. It is not murder. It happens all the time naturally through miscarriages, it happens all the time for necessary medical reasons, and it happens all the time because this world is a messed up place. We as grown, adult women have the right to choose.

Christina

Rose, everybody dies eventually from some cause. This can’t be used to justify just hauling off and shooting somebody. So how does the fact that many embryos and fetuses die of natural causes justify the choice to kill them by violence?

You point out that women are grown-ups. Then they ought to be able to understand the concept of picking on somebody your own size.

Cameron Reilly

Hey Lelia, interesting viewpoint on these subjects. Good to see some discussion of ethics outside of the normal circles. Would love to have you come on my G’Day World podcast as a guest to discuss them in more detail. Please email me if you’re interested.
cheers
Cameron Reilly
CEO, The Podcast Network (www.thepodcastnetwork.com) &
Host of Australia’s #1 podcast G’Day World (www.gdayworld.com)
cameron@thepodcastnetwork.com

Rose

Christina, the point I was making is that there is no fine distinction to be made when the embryo is killed. EveryTHING dies, from planets to plants, from humans to entire galaxies. You can say that all killing is violent, in which case we should stop eating everything, from meat to vegetables to fruits. You want us to pick on someone our own size? Does that mean you justify brutality against those who are murderers? What about those who murder in self-defense? The laws of society states that it’s illegal to kill a person, but an embryo is not considered a person in the eyes of the law.

The lines of reality are far, far too blurry for you to make such a blanket statement. Until you’ve been there, been through that experience, you cannot tell me exactly how you would react to the news that unless you kill something inside yourself, even if it’s a worm or a cancer or an embryo, you would no longer exist a month from now. You just have no idea, and for you to judge is simply wrong.

By the way, I don’t believe in the death penalty, yet the person who wrote the entry in this blog says:

“I cannot fathom how there are some people who will fight tooth and nail in favour of abortion, then turn around and talk about the human and civil rights of those who have raped and murdered. That is the epitome of contradictive behaviour to me.”

The reason why I don’t condone the death penalty is that you are killing a human being. An embryo is not a human being, but a potential to be a human being. A lump of coal is not a diamond, but a potential to be a diamond — they are exactly the same chemically (carbon), just as the DNA in an embryo and a human are the same, but entirely different things because of different processes. One has not undergone the process to become a diamond, and the other has not undergone the process to become human. To condone the act of killing a human is like throwing a diamond away, rather than throwing away a lump of coal. Abortion is simply preventing the process of becoming human from happening in the first place, not the killing of a human being.