Crucify Me – But…I Kinda Think a Fetus is Like a Parasite!

I’ve always wondered what parents find so adorable in sonogram images of the fetus that they have to carry it around in their wallets and phones. Maybe the realization that they are responsible for the creation of a life. That there in those photographs is a representation of themselves – their own DNA. Perhaps the closest to ever feeling that you’re a God. I don’t know, I’m just guessing.

Scary Stuff!
Scary Stuff!

I have to confess though that I’ve always been kind of creeped out by the whole concept of a baby. Especially when it hasn’t been born yet. The sight of a person’s tummy bulging with a life form, sucking their  nutrients out day after day…growing bigger and bigger until the time comes when the host’s body can’t contain it anymore. And then it rushes out, almost exploding into the world in a terrible crisis of pain, rupturing the body that fed it for 9 months. Brrr. Like something straight out of “Aliens”. And it doesn’t look too pretty when it emerges either. I get chills just thinking about it. There must be some kind of maternal instinct at work here because from a logical perspective, I would have just one thought were I a pregnant woman – “Get this thing outa me!!”

I mean is it just me, but does a fetus feel a hell of a lot like a parasite? Contributing nothing to the host organism, and making use of the sheltering body to sustain itself. Even after birth, it gets its emotional tentacles into the mother, drawing milk from her and emotionally blackmailing her into caring for it for the next ten or twenty years.

Now I know the formal definition of a parasite is that they have to from a different species. Also the birth of the fetus is just the beginning of its lifecycle. But these are just technicalities. In its very essence, we have one organism feeding on another. It’s not a symbiotic relationship with a give and take. It’s parasitic, pure and simple.

Does it matter? Probably not since people seem to enjoy having this thing growing inside them. Occasionally it some areas it becomes illegal to remove it after a certain stage. It’s just that it’s a whole new way of looking at the process and most people to whom I pitch this idea take a while adjusting to the notion, trying to square off their image of dangerous looking parasitic organisms like worms etc with the cute cuddly runts we see running around all the time. Hey, it is what it is!

I guess it also feels good to throw those off who believe that “life begins at conception” and that abortion is “killing babies”. I particularly enjoy the outrage when they sputter “How could you think that?” :D

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129 thoughts on “Crucify Me – But…I Kinda Think a Fetus is Like a Parasite!”

  1. Bhagwad, I returned to your blog after a long gap. I have no logical brain teasers to resolve what you have texted above… It can never be a possibility satisfying you when we discuss logical issues that are more to do with emotions… I believe it make more sense to loose before you then going on and on with a logical discussions… I see you have not changed since college days… You have been a true inspiration, but I am still trying hard not to go as insane…

    BTW hows life and work? Take care…

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  2. You’re right. Life doesn’t begin at conception and abortion is not killing babies. When a pregnant woman knows she will not be able to care for the baby after birth or the baby is going to be disabled or the woman is not interested in letting a baby grow inside her it’s her choice whether she wants to abort or not. Quality of life is more important than bringing more life into the world.
    I’m not going into whether aborting before 20 weeks, after 20 weeks, 24 weeks etc is right or wrong. That debate is best reserved for another time, I guess.

    Why do human beings have babies? The answer varies. Passing on DNA, drunk passion, MIL said so, need a sibling for the first kid, old age support etc etc.

    Do women enjoy having this thing growing inside them? – Not always.

    I would have just one thought were I a pregnant woman “Get this thing outa me!!” – You just said the exact words a woman nearing her due date screams every day, in some cases muttering the whole of pregnancy.

    Does it matter? Probably not since people seem to enjoy having this thing growing inside them. That’s exactly the question to ask. “What matters?”

    To your question: does a fetus feel a hell of a lot like a parasite? The answer is yes. The fetus feeds on the woman, takes on nourishment and gives nothing tangible in return. However, the fetus doesn’t stay a fetus for long and the intangible returns not so intangible. In fact, the returns slowly become somewhat tangible even as the fetus grows.

    I am not one of those maniacs that believe in kids being their old-age support or believe in intelligent design crap, babies are a miracle, you need to show them this beautiful world blah blah. In fact I’m more of the cynical type. As in “When there’s so much violence, rape, injustice and crap around why bring a baby into this world”. But in some ways babies are a miracle. A parent does feel powerful and accomplished. Not in a big God like way, perhaps like a tiny ant that carries 50 times its weight. And you got to wonder why it seems like a miracle to people.

    When all the kids around push and shove and beat each other to the ground, your 5 year old doesn’t hit back a kid (let me call him J) that has just hit him for no fault of his and you hear him say “I didn’t hit him back because violence is bad” and you say “Sweetheart you have to learn how to defend yourself” to which your 5 year old cluelessly asks “But if I cross my hand to stop the blow and it hurts J isn’t that violence too?” your eyes well up. That’s hope in a seemingly hopeless world. That’s acknowledgement. That’s power.

    In some ways, an idea – a powerful idea, is similar to a fetus (or a parasite). It enters your brain, consumes you, you willingly sacrifice comfort, sleep, hunger, hygiene and anything else that comes your way until you see it come to life. Then you do it all over again. And again. And again.

    Humans are suckers for creation and gratification.

    P.S: I guess sonograms are somewhat like the “Best student award” you get in Class 1. No one else really cares, even you don’t care when you are in college but you could never forget how proud you were when you received it.

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  3. Ah! Finally! Finally someone who thinks the same way I do and IS creeped out by the ….whole thing. And yea, I can’t appreciate or “get” a sonogram picture either.

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