If you are around young children very often, you’re probably familiar with the Olivia the Pig series. My niece loves those books. But you’re probably not as familiar with Oliver the Egg. Let me tell you about him. Christopher Franceschelli has written a cute book about Oliver, who is really a chick growing inside of an egg.
Since I’d really not enjoy being sued for copyright violations, I won’t quote this entire six sentence book. Suffice it to say that Mr. Franceschelli describes the very few things that Oliver could do as an egg. He says, “But he was simply an egg and that was that.”
This little book (while very cute) completely misses the boat on science. It’s final pages say, “until one day” (with a picture of an egg) “everything changed” (with a picture of a chick). While rather entertaining for a small child, this book lacks any scientific or accurate value. It’s patently untrue to say that, before hatching, a chick is “simply an egg.” Uh, no. It’s an unhatched chick inside an egg.
Oliver serves to illustrate the general lack of scientific and medical knowledge that many people and some pro-lifers have about the beginning of human life. When exactly does human life begin? Is there such a thing as a “fertilized egg”? What’s the accurate term to call a new human being at the earliest stages? Can we really prove from science that we should defend all human life? What do medical experts say about this issue? Pro-lifers need to be more knowledgeable about what we are for and why we believe what we believe. Read more The SCIENTIFIC Basis for Defending All Human Life