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CV NEWS FEED // A philosophy professor “interviewed” ChatGPT on 25 topics and was surprised by the AI bot’s response to questions surrounding abortion.
George Matwijec, who teaches at Immaculata University, wrote in the Mercator, “To my surprise, ChatGPT admitted that abortion is the termination of a living human organism — a significant acknowledgment. It warrants closer examination.”
Matwijec began by asking ChatGPT what kind of entity was in the mother’s womb, specifically using the word “entity” in order to avoid a result biased in one way or another.
“ChatGPT unequivocally affirmed that the zygote, embryo, and fetus are all biologically living organisms,” Matwijec wrote. “It explained that these entities exhibit the characteristics of life — cellular growth, metabolism, and responsiveness to their environment.”
Matwijec continued by asking whether abortion ends a living organism, to which ChatGPT responded, “Yes, from a biological standpoint, an abortion involves the termination of a living organism.”
Matwijec noted that the AI tool did not make a moral judgment, with ChatGPT instead noting that legal and societal perspectives often prioritize privacy over the moral implication of ending the life of a fetus.
When asked if the living organism is human, ChatGPT responded that it is not only human, as evidenced by its distinctly human DNA, but also genetically distinct from its parents.
After establishing that the zygote is a living, human organism, Matwijec asked ChatGPT, “What does this mean for abortion?”
The bot responded, “While it is scientifically established that a zygote, embryo, and fetus are living organisms and are human, the use of the term ‘baby’ for these stages can be more contentious and is often influenced by ethical, emotional, and legal considerations. The destruction of these stages in the context of abortion is understood as the termination of a human living organism. However, the broader ethical and legal implications of this fact remain subjects of significant debate and vary depending on cultural, religious, and individual beliefs [emphasis added by Matwijec.]”
Matwijec wrote that the answer was unsatisfying because, again, it refused to make a moral judgment about ending the life of a human being.
“Once it is established that the entity within the womb is a living, human, and uniquely individual organism, the right to life must take precedence,” Matwijec wrote. “From my perspective, no personal hardship or inconvenience — whether financial, emotional, or otherwise — justifies overriding the right to life.”
“In conclusion,” Matwijec wrote, “my dialogue with ChatGPT reaffirmed what science has long established: abortion involves the termination of a living, human, and uniquely individual organism.”
