[Avodah] spurious correlation

[David Riceman]

RMB:

<<If brain death means the death of the brains ability to maintain 
breath on its own, then the parallel would be when the baby starts 
breathing on its own -- birth.>>

You're making my point very eloquently.  The parallel to "the [end] of 
the brain's ability to maintain breath" is "the beginning of the brain's 
ability to maintain breath".  That's considerably earlier than "when the 
baby starts breathing on its own".  I don't know the exact numbers, but 
certainly seven month old fetuses can breathe without assistance when 
born early.

<<And most posqim do consider birth to be the start of life, and 
abortion being prohibited for reasons other than murder.>>

That's exactly my question.  Shouldn't those who hold that death can 
ensue before the cessation of breathing also hold that birth can ensue 
before the onset of breathing? Shouldn't the precise parallel be that a  
fetus is considered born if it could breathe on its own, even if it's 
now still unbreathing inside the womb?

David Riceman