I sometimes find myself furious with the anti-abortion ignorami. They are utterly oblivious to real humanity, as they rush to embrace the abstraction of a clump of cells, and profess their love for mere zygotes. Digby has an appalling example of this phenomenon; the freepers are squealing their hatred at the late Christopher Reeve, gloating at his death, all because he endorsed embryonic stem cell research. Here are a few ugly examples from the so-called "Free Republic":

The main gist of the dem line is: we need to keep legal the ability to take growing humans and detroy them through abortion so we can use their body parts to help other people like Chris Reeve (potentially) live better. The bloodlust is positively demonic. I am just not happy hearing about this this AM.

Ahh... reminds me of the Paul Wellstone rally err memorial service. Always trying to work in a political advantage over a death, aren't they.

You think you're cynical? I am wondering if Clark Kent would possibly pull the plug on himself in a desperate attempt to "matyrize" the stem-cell issue and help Kerry?

Reeve seemed like a nice chap until he got involved with the pro-death wing of the democrat party. We can't always get what we want, but we often get what we deserve.

The fact is, Mr. Reeve spent his last days using his fame and access to champion the murder of unborn children.

The fact is, Mr. Reeve took very clear and very selfish political stands and used his medical condition to gin up sympathy for murder.

I've written before about how the anti-abortion position is one that actually devalues human life. Michael Bérubé has similar sentiments. I think I need to express myself in simple words for these dumb bastards.

To you anti-abortionists:

Figure 1. These are children.

Figure 2. These are embryos.

I can tell the difference between 1 and 2. Why can't you?

Figure 3. This is a human being. No matter how damaged, he is a thinking, feeling person.

Figure 4. These are a few cells. They are only part of a person. They do not think or feel.

When you tell me you think an embryo is the same as my kids, you cheapen the worth of my children. They are much, much more than that small thoughtless blob. You reduce the value of family to mindless chemistry and metabolism.

When you damn a human being and sneer at his death, while raving desperately that every speck containing a human chromosome set must be cherished and preserved, you tell me that you are hypocrites who trivialize human loss.

I know where to find people who really value human life, and it's not in the cult that worships Figure 4.