Babies do to contribute to their host! Morning sickness, constipation, nausea, swelling, that 'pregnancy glow' ok, maybe it's just the hormones the 'parasite' triggers.

parasite: A professional dinner guest... ok?

1. The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This parasite (p�r'ə-sīt') Pronunciation Key

An organism that lives on or in a different kind of organism (the host) from which it gets some or all of its nourishment.

Parasites are generally harmful to their hosts, although the damage they do ranges widely from minor inconvenience to debilitating or fatal disease. â—‡ A parasite that lives or feeds on the outer surface of the host's body, such as a louse, tick, or leech, is called an ectoparasite. Ectoparasites do not usually cause disease themselves although they are frequently a vector of disease, as in the case of ticks, which can transmit the organisms that cause such diseases as Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease. â—‡ A parasite that lives inside the body of its host is called an endoparasite. Endoparasites include organisms such as tapeworms, hookworms, and trypanosomes that live within the host's organs or tissues, as well as organisms such as sporozoans that invade the host's cells. See more at host.

2. American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
parasite


An organism that lives off or in another organism, obtaining nourishment and protection while offering no benefit in return. Human parasites are often harmful to the body and can cause diseases, such as trichinosis.

Note: The term parasite is often applied to a person who takes advantage of other people and fails to offer anything in return

3. par·a·site (pr-st) n.

An organism that grows, feeds, and is sheltered on or in a different organism while contributing nothing to the survival of its host.
In conjoined twins, the usually incomplete twin that derives its support from the more nearly normal fetus.


4. WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This parasite noun

1. an animal or plant that lives in or on a host (another animal or plant); it obtains nourishment from the host without benefiting or killing the host [ant: host]
2. a follower who hangs around a host (without benefit to the host) in hope of gain or advantage [syn: leech]


5. American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This par·a·site (p�r'ə-sīt') Pronunciation Key n.

Biology An organism that grows, feeds, and is sheltered on or in a different organism while contributing nothing to the survival of its host.

One who habitually takes advantage of the generosity of others without making any useful return.
One who lives off and flatters the rich; a sycophant.
A professional dinner guest, especially in ancient Greece.


6. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
par·a·site /ˈpærəˌsaɪt/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[par-uh-sahyt] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun 1. an organism that lives on or in an organism of another species, known as the host, from the body of which it obtains nutriment.
2. a person who receives support, advantage, or the like, from another or others without giving any useful or proper return, as one who lives on the hospitality of others.
3. (in ancient Greece) a person who received free meals in return for amusing or impudent conversation, flattering remarks, etc.




A parasite is of a diff species not your own young

There was only one of the definitions that didnt spell out another organism ...of another species

Sorry, sugarplum, but one is all it takes. The parasite doesn't have to match all of the definitions to be a parasite.

back to what it is... call it anything you want to... most mother that are planing on keeping their Embro, Fetus, Pasrasite, call it their Baby.,,
No matter what you call it.,, FACT is it is a human parasit, embryo , fetus. and if left to grow would develop into a human. And born a human baby, Child, Infant, Kid, brat, what ever you want to call it after birth..
No matter what you call it, it is still the same thing.

Even if it is the same thing it is still attached to and feeding off of the womans body. It is imperative if the woman is to be anything other than a slave with no onership of her own body that it be there by her decision and not the interference of strangers.

Whether it is a 'parasite' or not is not going to stop millions of women aborting

It would, it could, it might. Is It Right Now any of those things? No. And THAT is the point that is trying to be made.

An egg is not an omlette. Raw steel is not a car. A particle of water vapor is not a cloud.

Or make them start aborting, either.

it's not it could be? might be? It is.. it still is a developing human being no matter what you call it.
It still can be called a baby eiri.. many many women call it a baby it does not make the word WRONG.. just like fetus or parasite or any othere word one wants to call it. That is the point I'm trying to make .

What do you mean, "It's not it could be?" Isn't that what I just wrote? It would, it could, it might [be]? The "be" was implied.

Yes, and egg could be an omlette, but I feel like using it in some cookies today. Should I refrain from making any other kind of food for forever just because that egg might be an omlette?

I never said the word baby was wrong - not recently. Just that it is not as right as "fetus", which is 100% true.

There is a difference here. "Baby" and "parasite" are neither as correct as zygote, embryo or fetus. Z/e/f wins the day for most correct, most accurate words to properly describe the unborn. If you actually want to be right, you have to call it a fetus. If you want to play with emotions, you can use baby or parasite.

Indeed. This is just a companion thread to the one that points out that it is etymologically correct to call a zygote or embryo or fetus a baby. It appears that pretty much everyone agrees that is the case. Since I had seen various posters say a zygote or embryo or fetus could not be properly called a parasite, I thought I'd clear up the fact that the word "parasite" is also correct.

and I never said is wasn't...

Again, vernacular dictionaries are not the BEST sources for scientific definitions, as they sometimes tend to shorten a full explanation. Many scientific dictionaries say that a "true parasite" is of a different species. You do understand that a "true parasite" remains a parasite all it's life, right?

I mean, being a parasite really isn't a "temporary condition", ya know?


That's an interesting point, actually. So that shoots down some prochoice arguments that the fetus/baby is a "part of a woman's body", right?

I like your insistence that it "only takes one source" to make it valid... I've been saying that for months!

The vernacular definition of parasite DOES describe what all gestating young do, not just human ones. However..... and this is a biggie..... that is a temporary CONDITION that they are in..... they do not remain in that condition all their lives, and so they are not "true" parasites all their lives... unless you count sponging off the parents until they are 40. But that would be a vernacular application, of course.......

Have you ever looked up the word "slave", or would you rather just use that word euphemistically?

Wow..... what does all that mean?

Not really, those developmental terms are not even species specific, are they?

Since I'm prochoice, I'll support the choice of others to use whatever word they wish to describe the...uh...widget, and allow their own manipulation or honesty to shine through, thus gracing us with their true intentions.

That is disingenuous. Gracing us with your true intentions, indeed.