> Can anybody explain the gigantic difference between
> a baby of age one minute and a fetus that is one
> minute from birth?
The former is using another human being as a life support system, the latter is not. In the former's case, therefore, there may be a conflict between it's right to life and it's mother's right to control her own body. In the latter case, there is no such conflict.
mbs: when you say, "there may be a conflict between its right to life and its mother's right to control her own body" I think you've given the game away.
You might as well as what the difference between a prisoner one minute before release and one minute after release. The prisoner himself has changed not at all; but his status and circumstances have changed in ways that are very important, from both a legal and an ethical perspective.
Your question is also a bit besides the point, because no one is calling for abortions of one-minute-pre-birth babies. Barry
mbs: ditto for "one-minute-pre-birth babies". That's the slippery slope, isn't it?