Where Human Life First Begins - Coursework Example

Where Human Life First Begins Introduction In this paper, the main discussion will be based on critical analysis and fact that life begins at conception. There have been intense contraversion among scholars worldwide regarding where human life first begins. This case involving Will and Asha evolved from a disagreement point between the couples. This relatively ended up in death of both the newborn and later the mother. This paper will discuss with evidence the causes of the deaths. Question a Based on the evidence provided by the medical practitioners that the cause of the infant death was because of the violence, Mr Will is guilty for manslaughter. This is because, murder is defined as taking away someone’s life intentionally or after planning while manslaughter is considered when one takes away life without malice (Economist 2013). According to the short statement, Will is guilty for the death of the baby simply because life begins at conception (Allen, 2013). The truth concerning human growth and development reveal the fact that life of a human being starts the moment fertilization takes place. Although there have been vast controversial arguments, scientists were forced to provide evidence that categorize foetus as living thing (Allen, 2013). To begin with, at fertilization, a zygote is formed (Allen, 2013). The zygote is highly organized such that it can acquire nutrients and could respond to stimuli (Allen, 2013). By the fact that the zygote is capable of regeneration facilitated through massive cell division. This cell division enable it to grow and develop. All this are characteristics for living tings. Therefore, life begins at conception. It is clear that even when the mother herself is not aware that she is pregnant, there is life inside her. The law has to convict Mr Will for manslaughter. This is because the violence he imposed on the mother during the late stages of foetal development complicated the life of the foetus inside her thus was born prematurely. Question b Mr Will is the main root cause for the death of both Asha and her baby. The law must regard him to this manslaughter and convict him. It is important to note that murder is not necessarily executed using a weapon. There is also psychological caused death. Mr Will being the father of the unborn baby never appreciated and loved the pregnancy. His hate began the moment Asha told him she was pregnant. This ended their happy five year stay since Mr Will was unhappy. The situation even moved from worse to worst when his attempts to persuade Asha to abort went in-vain. This shows that Mr Will had planned to kill the baby earlier through abortion. He had knowledge that abortion is illegal since it kills life and risky to the mother too. The intentions of Mr Will to force abortion could also have killed Asha and Will knew that after the abortion the baby could die. Moreover, the gestation period of the foetus was cut short due to the violence. When Will hit Asha and she fell down stairs that is when Will actually killed the baby. According to scientist, domestic violence is noted to be one of the modifiable risk factor that mainly results in adverse pregnancy outcomes (CDC 2013). In the world today, approximately 26.7% of pregnant women are physically abused during pregnancy (CDC 2013). The physical abuses include being beaten up, threatened with a weapon or verbally or even being thrown away. Out of the numbers, 10.9% of all those physical violence have ended up in premature births (CDC 2013). Doctors have also revealed that violence can harm the baby directly or cause premature birth (CDC 2013). Premature birth is accompanied by more risks. Even though the premature birth might be normal, the baby could die after few days due to complicated related to prematurity. The complicated attached to premature birth includes breathing problems, cerebral palsy, development problems and feeding difficulties (CDC 2013). According to CDC 2013, it is noted that one of the main cause of premature birth is environment the mother is exposed to. From the statement, it emanates that Will and Asha might have had a rough time with argument and probably violence. This premature birth may have been caused by a chronic repetitive exposure to violence and depression of the mother (CDC 2013). It is evident that the moment Asha strongly declined proposal from Will to terminate the pregnancy that was the day Will started harassing her. When his plans were not working is when he decided to cause major blow that caused the premature birth. In my opinion, Asha had previously been exposed to major physical and emotional violence throughout the eight months. Question c Asha did not choose to commit suicide out of a sober mind, she was already psychologically dead the day she went into premature birth and her baby died thereafter. It is important to note that there are physical and psychological causes of death. After the death of Asha’s baby girl, she was not at peace. It is pretty clear in the diaries of psychiatrists that psychological stress and depression is associated with risk of premature mortality (Russ 2012). The case of Asha killing herself was as a result of what Mr Will who was the father of her only baby gild did to her. To Asha, what Will did to her caused the death of the child. She reached a point of hopelessness, powerlessness and was full of intense emotions that forced her to kill herself (Russ 2012). Mr Will again is guilty. This is precisely because, the first time he insisted on abortion, he knew the mother could die or survive but he never cared. That means he saw Asha and the unborn baby as valueless. Secondly, Asha suffered more from the violence Will imposed on her to an extent of pushing her down the stairs. This made her feel unwanted and unloved by the man he offered herself to. She felt wasted for five years and used by a man who ended up causing intentional death of their baby she suffered carrying for 8 months. All this going through Asha’s mind supplemented with the severe depression relatively left her no choice but to end her life. Conclusion In summary, the case before Will is categorized as manslaughter. In my opinion, Will is guilty of the charges and should face the law accordingly. Noting is the fact that if Will would have never been violent, then nothing would have happened. Therefore, he must face manslaughter charges that ended lives of Asha and new-born premature baby. This should serve as a lesson to many men who are violent primarily to pregnant women. Read More