Watching House. Learning About Life.

Although I'm not a huge fan of network TV, I've been watching House, M.D. lately. For those who haven't, you should consider giving it a chance. I'm also not a huge fan of medical shows, but I've loved Hugh Laurie (the actor/comedian who plays the main character) ever since his early BBC days with Stephen Fry.

House is an avowed atheist and a curmudgeon. In the intense episode I watched last night (One Day, One Room), he interacts with a rape victim (intriguingly named Eve) who challenges his notions of God. There are two quotes from the show I would like to share with you:

Quote #1 - House and Eve are discussing abortion (I told you it was an intense show). Eve's contention is that everyone's life is sacred. House doesn't agree:

House: If we were to care about every person suffering on the planet, life would shut down.

Certainly life as we know it would. Sounds like a perfect plan. :D

Quote #2 - House and Eve finally get down to discussing the nature of existence and why she chose him to discuss all of this. She confesses that she doesn't really know why... simply because he was there in the room with her. He doesn't understand the irrationality of her choice:

House: Are you going to base your whole life on who you're stuck in a room with?

Eve: I'm gonna base this moment on who I am stuck in a room with! It's what life is, it's a series of rooms, and who we get stuck in those rooms with, adds up to what our lives are.

Yes it does.

Stem Cells from Eggs?

Scientists: Stem Cells Created From Eggs

If this ends up being a legitimate source for stem cells, will this silence those who argue it's better to destroy unwanted embryos than save existing human life? I doubt it.

I have to admit that this subject raises concerns in me. I can see that there is a clear line of progression between zygotes and babies. At what point in development should a moral person, regardless of faith, believe the cluster of viable joined human zygote cells becomes human life with some sort of defensible rights? Or maybe that's not the true framing of the argument at all...

We all have living organisms inside of us that we kill everyday. Those of a developing human have more value to us as humans. Maybe it's a matter of who gets to say what happens to the cells growing inside of each of us. Why should the government have a say in what happens inside my body that can overrule my wishes.

God knows we're not going to solve the abortion debate within the confines of this blog. But maybe we can have an intelligent discussion about the subject. What do you think?