Pregancies and "Riders" (was Re: IN> APG Errata Submitted)

[Walter Milliken]

At 07:21 -0400 9/6/06, Randolph Finder wrote:
>Any feeling for whether or not riders should be able to take over fetuses?

Based on the regular restrictions (Kyrios can take over any vertebrate
animal, Shedim are restricted to humans), I would say yes for Kyrios,
at least after the initial development of the brain and spinal cord.
I.e., when the fetus is recognizably vertebrate.  (Actually, I think it's
probably a member of Chordata, which is a bit wider, I believe.)

For Shedim, I'd say no up until late in the pregnancy, when the brain
development is more typically human.

(I don't know enough reproductive bio to pin down the timing on this,
and don't feel like doing the research at the moment.)

Obviously, various religious arguments can be made for different timing;
I'm basing this on simple biology, exclusive of religious complications.


---Walter