It is not very often that anything of profundity comes out of Hollywood, particularly anything from a perspective critical of the status quo. However, last night I watched what mounted to my second total episode of the Fox television show House. Treading on very taboo territory, the episode titled ‘Fetal Position’ analyzed the issue of the nature of the unborn. A pregnant woman and her unborn child were facing death due to the liver failure of the mother which was apparently brought on by the baby. (I encourage you to read the full recap as it will help my writing be more relevant)

The storyline centered on the lead character of the show Dr. Gregory House (a somewhat maniacal medical genius who often presses the envelope on ethics and the sanity of his coworkers while being the pinnacle of brilliance in diagnosis and procedure -played by Hugh Laurie) and a fellow doctor (Dr. Lisa Cuddy played by Lisa Edelstein) who posses still great but lesser skill and with a much more normal psychological profile.

As the story reaches the height of tension we are privy to verbal jabs from both sides that quite effectively articulate both the pro-abortion and pro-life arguments. I chose the word pro-abortion here because the plot had the mother to chose life while her doctor (House) was choosing abortion. Constantly throughout the banter House insisted upon referring to the unborn as a ‘fetus’ and even resulted to calling it a ‘tadpole’ inferring that it had not reached human status any more than a tadpole had reached frog status. The opposing Dr. Cuddy brought constant reminders that the unborn was a child. In one dialog when House was making a decision on behalf of the mother who could not talk at this point, Cuddy barbed that the baby would also have an opinion if it could talk.

Undoubtedly the show was bold in showing both views so completely splayed before the nation as they rarely are. The writers of House did not take a stand on the issue by presenting one-sided arguments; they didn’t have to. Using the most powerful arguments from both camps (see above link to synopsis) made some things very clear. It became obvious as the viewer was left to assess the points and even be immersed in the throws of a lifelike situation, that human life has intrinsic value. Being ‘human’ is not based on level of development or placement inside or outside of the womb. During a pivotal scene the worlds of outside and inside the womb merge as the babies tiny arm reaches from inside the womb to clutch Houses finger during the procedure (a reenactment of the famous photo).

During the closing scene in reference to the successful procedure, House even refers to the baby as “being born twice”. The procedure involved opening the womb, exposing the baby (as in cesarean section), doing exploratory work, and replacing the child in the womb. By using the “born twice” term, House was admitting that had the surgery never been necessary and the child remained in the womb, it would have been the same sort of entity as it would had it been born naturally… a fully human baby. House admits his mistaken in the end and seems to hold great remorse over the fact that he would have aborted the child without the intervention of Dr. Cuddy.

Let us remember: If the unborn is not a human being, no justification for abortion isnecessary. However, if the unborn is a human being, no justification for abortion is adequate.

For an unfiltered look into the abortion issue and where even medical science says life begins, visit here. Warning: This site is extremely valuable in getting to the facts. However, navigate carefully as some graphic material is accessible on this site, although you will not find them on the page linked.