Quote of the Day

From today's Best of the Web, under the heading of Fetus and Mouth Disease, James Taranto writes, "An antichoice extremist is on the loose in Long Beach, Calif."

Quoting from a story from San Diego television station KSND-TV:

The premature baby of a 37-year-old woman who gave birth just hours after finding out she was pregnant is going home.

Annice Allen said she went to hospital thinking she was having severe menstrual cramps. Three hours later, she found out she was 23 to 24 weeks pregnant and gave birth to a 1-pound, 4-ounce girl she named Jimice.

"The doctor says, 'Ok, the fetus is 23 weeks,' " Allen said. "We said, 'The fetus?' We went back and forth with that, and he said, 'How old are you?' I said, 'I'm 37.' So, he puts his hand on me and says, 'A fetus is a baby.' I said, 'I know a fetus is a baby, but I didn't know I was pregnant.' "

Taranto concludes:

A doctor said "a fetus is a baby"? That's scary! The ACLU should sue this guy for malpractice. After all, any competent doctor can tell the difference between a baby and a clump of cells. Where'd this guy go to medical school anyway, Karl Rove University?

C'mon, James! It's a clump of cells until it has self-awareness and is a contributing member of society! It's not a baby until at least its third birthday!