Samantha Bee’s ‘Full Frontal’: Since Religions Argue When the Soul Enters the Body, No Abortion Bans

Activist talk show host Samantha Bee recently had two women on her TBS show ‘Full Frontal’ who argued that “a small minority of religious people are basing laws that will affect my body on the idea that at conception the fetus has a soul.”

The women were responding to the Mississippi law that would make it almost illegal to have an abortion after 15 weeks, unless a medical exemption arises. The women argue that a small majority of religious people are basing this law on the idea that “at conception the fetus has a soul.” They argue that since the major religions don’t agree on when this happens, there shouldn’t be an abortion ban.

Woman 1: “There are no two ways to read the Mississippi law. It’s intent is to move the goal posts and make getting an abortion harder. Why? Because a small minority of religious people are basing laws that will affect my body on the idea that at conception the fetus has a soul. And that’s something that even The Majors don’t agree on. The Talmud says for the first 40 days the fetus is mere water. That would be about seven to eight weeks of gestation.”

Woman 2: The Quan does say that at 120 days the soul enters the body of the fetus. And that is roughly 17 and a half weeks.”

Samantha Bee: “Is there anything that your respective religions say about when the soul leaves the body? Like is it when you run for office?”

The women conveniently left out Jeremiah 1:5 (Old Testament), “before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” 

This pretty much spells out that unborn fetuses have souls from the beginning – at least one would think it does.