Difference between revisions of "Human reproduction"

Revision as of 21:48, December 30, 2011

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-[[Image:Sperm-egg.jpg|thumbnail|Sperm cell hitting an egg cell]]
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-'''Human reproduction''' is the process by which children are conceived and born. In order for human reproduction to occur under normal circumstances, male and female must engage in [[sexual intercourse]], which should take place within [[marriage]]. Exceptionally, reproduction may take place without intercourse via procedures such as [[in vitro fertilization]].
-==Spiritual aspects==
-[[Image:Soul_Conception.jpg|thumbnail|Artist's conception of soul joining the fertilized egg at conception.]]
-Human reproduction serves to create new human beings and with each of these new human beings comes a [[soul]]. The soul appears with the person at the moment of [[conception]], making him a complete human being from this moment.  This is why [[abortion]] is [[murder]]: the abortionist has rent the soul from a living human body, the soul being the source of a full life for human beings. If hypothetically there were no soul present in the human at the time of conception and it entered the body at some later stage, then until that moment the [[fetus]] would be nothing more than an animated body, similar to how animals and plants are alive but without souls. Thus, if this were the case, abortion would not be murder, but rather a termination of a non-human entity, at least until the soul finally joined the body. However, there has never been any evidence presented that the soul can enter the body at any time later than conception. Since the soul is intrinsic to human beings, it absolutely must be present at conception and therefore abortion is murder.
-There are many religious beliefs, even within [[Christianity]], on the origin of the soul that accompanies a new human being. Some believe portions of the souls of the parents combine to form the new soul. Some believe a free-floating soul becomes trapped within the body. Some believe a soul is created with the fusion of the gametes, in a meta-chemical process. Believers in [[reincarnation]] say that the soul of a previously deceased person or animal (in this religion non-human animals are believed to have souls as well) enters the new body, so that there is a spiritual [[memory]] of the previous life.
-==Biological aspects==
-The ultimate act of intimacy serves to unite the male and female [[gamete]]s, the [[sperm]] and [[egg]], respectively. These gametes carry just one half of the [[gene]]tic material ([[chromosome]]s) from each parent, and when they combine the new [[embryo]] contains a full set of chromosomes. The process of the gametes combining is called [[fertilization]], and takes place inside the woman's body, in the [[Fallopian tubes]] or [[uterus]]. The embryo then attaches itself to the uterine lining, and is nourished by the placenta (which in turn receives its nourishment from the mother's body) while it develops. This development takes roughly nine months (see [[Naegele's Rule]]).
-At the end of this process of protected development, what was once an embryo is now born as a new baby. Human babies are relatively helpless, and depend on the care and love of both parents in order to survive to maturity themselves.
-Humans are not able to reproduce alone by [[budding]], [[parthenogenesis]], or [[self-cloning]] as some species are capable of. In addition, human [[sex]] is fixed at conception, unlike some species'; females are not able to become male or vice versa to deal with homogeneous populations of one gender.
-== References ==
-<references/>
-[[Category:Sexuality]]
-== External Links ==
-*[http://www.opposingviews.com/questions/when-does-life-begin Opposing Views: When Does Life Begin?]
-*[http://www.aim.org/wls/category/sex/ What Liberals Say - Category: Sex], [[Accuracy In Media]]

Difference between revisions of "Human reproduction"

Revision as of 21:48, December 30, 2011

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