This argument conflates pregnancy as ordinary care that one provides to their ZEF much in the same manner that giving a bottle or changing a diaper is care one provides to their infant.
The problem with this argument is that it conflates a symbiotic (specifically a parasitic-symbiotic) relationship with that of interdependency.
I am going to define the differences between these three things:
- Symbiotic (parasitic-symbiotic) relationships
- Interdependency relationships
- Parts of a body and their relationship to that of a whole body
Humans are an interdependent species. We rely upon one another to have our needs met.
This does not involve a symbiotic-parasitic relationship nor are they the same.
Parasitism is defined here as:
- parasitism - one species lives on, in or with a host species
It goes on further to say " In parasitism, one organism benefits from the relationship at the expense of the other. The parasitic organism may live inside another organism's body (endoparasitism) or on its surface (ectoparasitism). The host species often weakens and sometimes dies, but in most cases, the parasite needs it to stay alive so it can keep feeding on it. "
Now, this obviously isn't what a ZEF is as they are of the same species as us. But here we can see that this is not the same thing as an interdependent relationship.
Interdependent is defined as:
- mutually dependent; depending on each other.
Now, infants and toddlers do have more dependency upon the older members of their group. That is not to say though that their parents do not have some sort of need being met by their young. They depend on them to provide the satisfaction of loving and caring for another human. They bring them happiness and joy. And while their young are far more dependent on them, they are not living within their parent, weakening them (ie causing things like morning sickness or requiring harmful, painful, exhausting labor and delivery with 6 weeks recovery time) at the expense of their parent.
Birth defines a crucial biological change. Once the ZEF is born, it is no longer biologically bound to a single organism host and it becomes interdependent upon other members of its species, not solely their host, further defining relationship differences and boundaries.
So, to recap:
- Living within (parasitism) vs living among (interdependency)
- Care is provided exclusively from the host (parasitism) vs care can be provided from the collective group (interdependency)
- Benefits are provided to the ZEF in a manner that weakens their mother (parasitism) vs benefits are not provided to an infant in a manner that weakens the mother (interdependency)
The ZEF needs to not be living within its host, benefitting exclusively off its host in a manner that weakens them, with no ability for contribution to be provided by the collective, before we can consider pregnancy to be the same type of care provided to young as that of interdependent relationships.
These are the differences between the two types of "care" provided to a zef vs an infant. To classify them as the same requires ignoring key differences and loosely defining the relationships.
To further support the case of highlighting key differences between a symbiotic relationship and an interdependent one, we need to not just define the similarities between a parasite and a ZEF, but also their differences. Because as I explained before, they are not, in fact, parasites as they are of the same species.
ZEFs are not just topologically contained within their mother. They are hooked into them, intertwined with them so as to act more as a part of a whole.
Parts of a whole body are intertwined on a:
- Homeostatic level
- Metabolic level
- Functional level
- Topological (continuity) level
- Immunological level
It is this type of relationship between parts of a body that define the whole. When these elements are lost, they are no longer considered to be a part of a whole organism's body.
I wrote about this previously here. Because of this, not only is the relationship of a ZEF further separated from interdependency through the understanding of parasitism, it is further separated from it by understanding that the relationship of a ZEF is more part-like with that of its mother's body. Meaning that for all intents and purposes, the mother's body recognizes a ZEF more as of its body than recognizing it as that of a parasite. It is literally a part of her body, not merely just contained within it in a parasitic manner. Individual members of a species that function merely interdependently do not share those attributes.
ZEFs are not the same as that of a born infant and thus should not be treated as such. We cannot ignore the differences between a ZEF and an infant whilst advocating for the benefits of their similarities.
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