Not wishing to earn the wrath here, but technically speaking, from a physical standpoint, the unborn is a parasite:

Websters:
Main Entry: par·a·site
Pronunciation: 'par-&-"sIt
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle French, from Latin parasitus, from Greek parasitos, from para- + sitos grain, food
3. Something that resembles a biological parasite in dependence on something else for existence or support without making a useful or adequate return

This does not take into account psychological benefits, nor does it pertain to Teenagers.

IG

IG, Webster's definitions do not cover the complete biological classification of "parasite".

There's a HUGE difference between "progeny" and "parasite".

without making a useful or adequate return

And even in your own definition, THAT is why a child, unborn or not, is NOT a parasite.

What physical benefit is there to the host?

IG

I thought cacto's comment was disgusting too but I'm not so sure he is 'left'. I recall him whinging about the 'intellectual bankruptcy of the left' only a few days ago and there's not much in his comments which suggests he is 'left', but I could be wrong. He's pretty young, I think; maybe if/when he is a parent he'll see things differently. I think you're right to be disgusted, but it's a reach to make this another left=bad right=good thingie.

What physical benefit is there to the host? IG

IG,

the definition you provided does not qualify it as to having to be a physical benefit.

Please don't push this issue. As I hinted at in the article, if you view an unborn child as a parasite, you and I have NOTHING in common.

cacto is a "she", I believe, and is an avowed socialist. She also hypocritically derided me for my questioning of the tsunami aid being provided by public funds (I wonder how many aid recipients there are pregnant?)

IG, I think you misunderstand what a baby is.  It is a symbiote, not a parasite.  Parasites are not of the hosts flesh and blood.

I think you're right to be disgusted, but it's a reach to make this another left=bad right=good thingie.

I'm in complete agreement in this case.

The comments in question were certainly disgusting, but I don't see how you can lump the left in with this one any more than you can lump the US in with the Nazis because we didn't send troops until we were attacked.

This was a stupid comment. As I've said many times before, sometimes, in fact almost always, a stupid comment is just a stupid comment.

Philomedy,

Maybe it isn't a left/right thing, but I personally haven't encountered to date any right wingers making such assertions. And, for the record, I have never made the opposite assertion of right=good.

When you think about it, all humans are parasites, because we are dependent on something else (the Earth) for existence and support and we do not make a useful or adequate return.

Juxta,

If the broad definition is used, yes, that is true. But in a sense it is not, as all living species are interdependent on others for survival. BUT...and this is part of my point...the blogger in question derided me heavily for some of my statements about the tsunami aid. IF we are "all parasites", then the tsunami was nothing more than nature's flea bath and we shouldn't do anything to help the survivors...a thought that goes VERY MUCH against that blogger's mindset.

IG, I think you misunderstand what a baby is. It is a symbiote, not a parasite.

One minute, let me get my dictionary:

Main Entry: sym·bi·o·sis
1 : the living together in more or less intimate association or close union of two dissimilar organisms
2 : the intimate living together of two dissimilar organisms in a mutually beneficial relationship; especially : MUTUALISM

Thank you Dr. Guy.

IG

Cacto is a boy, possibly named Nick, from his blog:

'As a young man with no children, moderately wealthy parents and in the dying days of my university education, there isn't a party in the land that offers a credible good deal for me. Not for me the baby bonus, not for me the childcare copayments, not for me the tax cuts, not for me the improvement of the public health system. Instead both major parties have failed me in nearly every respect.'

No way this guy is an avowed socialist, sounds to me like he's in the middle.

david,

OK, my bad on cacto's gender.

Cacto has, however, repeatedly attacked me for my anti-socialist stances, on several different threads, meaning maybe he's inclined to play devil's advocate.

However, the fact remains that his viewing of an unborn child as a "parasite" and his position on foreign aid (reasserted in one of his last articles before he left JU for awhile), are inconsistent stances at best. I remain firm on exactly what kind of deviant monster I consider him to be for his former position.

If the broad definition is used, yes, that is true. But in a sense it is not, as all living species are interdependent on others for survival. BUT...and this is part of my point...the blogger in question derided me heavily for some of my statements about the tsunami aid. IF we are "all parasites", then the tsunami was nothing more than nature's flea bath and we shouldn't do anything to help the survivors...a thought that goes VERY MUCH against that blogger's mindset.

That is pretty hypocritical, especially since the tsunami victims are parasites by their definition (what the hell are they doing for us? Nothing!).