GENESIS, by Ramos David--amazing short film!

This is a non-graphic beautiful video showing the miracle of life. Please share! I don't know if Ramos David and his affiliates are officially pro-life (though it would certainly seem so), but promoting a culture of life is a way to stop abortion.

Life Begins Now (Part 3)

In two previous posts, I’ve been going through a list. It’s a list of different opinions about when life (and/or personhood) begins. Today, I’ll finish explaining the last few things on that list, and, finally, give my own reasons for when life begins.

·        When the heart begins to beat

A baby’s heart begins to beat at eighteen days after conception. Though this, like most of the other opinions, doesn’t signify personhood in itself, it’s hard to ignore. Something that has a heartbeat is very obviously alive. And, other than insects and algae and the like, very few animals don’t have a heart. Also, not many animals have two hearts. See what this implies?

Not only is the baby alive, it also is its own person. The baby has its own blood and own heart, completely separate from the woman’s blood and heart. (As I’ve mentioned before, pro-abortioners say that a woman has a right to control her own body. So she does. The baby isn’t part of her body.)

·        When the first brain waves are recorded, or when the baby is conceived.

I “squished” these two last opinions together because they ran together while I was writing this.

A popular opinion among pro-lifers is that brain waves can be detected at six weeks, two days. A popular opinion among pro-abortioners is that this is bogus.

To be honest, since there is such an immense amount of controversy (even more so than with fetal pain) and such convincing arguments on both sides, and since I haven’t tried measuring fetal brain waves myself, I’m not comfortable with saying for sure which opinion is right. However, in The Biology of Prenatal Development, distributed by National Geographic, as well as many other sources that aren’t necessarily pro-life, it is stated as true. (Here is the segment where this is stated. I encourage you to watch some of the other videos as well—this is incredible footage of live embryos and fetuses.) (To be fair, it is also rebuffed as not true by multiple sources as well. However, I have yet to see something rebuff this claim that isn’t pro-abortion.)

There’s something else to this though. Wilder Penfield, a neural cartographer, electrically stimulated the brains of his patients (for necessary surgical reasons. You can read about it here.), often resulting in a body part (such as a hand) moving involuntarily. The patients would often hold down their own hand to keep it from moving. The brain can be stimulated to make physical aspects of people move, but you can’t stimulate the brain to, for example, make a person pro-life or pro-abortion. You can affect a person’s environment to influence their thinking, you can plant an idea like in “Inception”, but it is the person who makes the choice. You can’t stimulate their choice. It doesn’t work like that. My point? There is something non-physical about human beings. That's what makes human beings special. Despite all the scientific facts and evidence you can gather, there’s still something elusive that can’t be tracked down with a microscope. Who are we to ignore that? It's impossible to tell when this "starts".

Life begins now. When does the life gain personhood? The baby is a person when it is born. She is a person a few  hours before she is born. A few days. A few weeks? Where is the line? Where does this clump of tissue suddenly become a person? Preemies can be born at twenty-three weeks, and they are people then. They'll still be people a few hours before. A few days. A few weeks? Let's say babies become people at twenty weeks. Okay. Fine. So it's okay to kill them at nineteen weeks, six days? WHERE DO YOU DRAW THE LINE? Does this really happen: not a person...not a person...BOOM! PERSON! What happens in a twenty-four hour time line? How is the baby less of a person at nineteen weeks, five days? Four days? Three days? What's the difference between eighteen weeks and seventeen weeks? 

From now until death, this human is alive.  Human beings are special. This human is her own unique person, non identical to any other living thing for all of creation. She is completely separate from her mother, and also completely dependent on her mother. Does it really matter what physical things are functioning or not? Before, she wasn't anybody. She was an it, devided into two halves. Egg, sperm. Nothing. Not growing, just sitting. Alive just as a finger or kidney is alive. And then...they join together. Conceived, and she now has eye color and height and personality and gender. From the instant she is conceived, she is growing. Conscious, aware, feeling, or not, this human is a person. Humans are people, not mere tissue.

People.

Image found via Google Images. No copyright infringement intended.

Life Begins Now (Part 2)

I intended to finish explaining my list of opinions about when life begins today, but the next subject is so sticky and deep that I decided to devote this entire blog post to it.

Some believe life begins:

·        When the baby can feel pain.

At the very least, by this time it seems cruel to dismember the fetus. Few people would want to hurt helpless beings, whether they are people or not. When something can feel pain, that something is conscious in some way shape or form. And when something is conscious human being, it’s hard to argue that the something isn’t a person.

However, those with this opinion usually aren't aware just how early babies begin to feel pain. There is a lot of debate, naturally, over when this happens. Currently, a new Kansas law prohibits most abortions past twenty weeks. Other states (I’m unsure about the exact number, as many have been debating and/or passing them recently) now have similar laws.

“At 20 weeks, the fetal brain has the full complement of brain cells present in adulthood, ready and waiting to receive pain signals from the body, and their electrical activity can be recorded by standard electroencephalography (EEG).”
— Dr. Paul Ranalli, neurologist, University of Toronto

An unborn baby at 20 weeks gestation “is fully capable of experiencing pain. … Without question, [abortion] is a dreadfully painful experience for any infant subjected to such a surgical procedure.”
— Robert J. White, M.D., PhD., professor of neurosurgery, Case Western University

Both quotes from here.

Approximately twenty-eight years ago, Kanwaljeet Anand, a doctor who dealt with pre-term babies (preemies) was surprised to find that the infants suffered less trauma in the operation room when given anesthetic before the operation. Studying this, he found that “even the most premature [about 22 weeks] babies grimaced when pricked by a needle.”

Story found in the New York Times (Online).



Twenty weeks old



Overall, people generally agree that, perhaps we should assume that babies can feel pain up to twenty weeks. I did a Google search on fetal pain and all the articles I looked at, whether pro-abortion or pro-life, at least mentioned that it was possible (though maybe not likely) that babies could feel pain around twenty weeks.

Abby Johnson, former director of a Planned Parenthood clinic, left Planned Parenthood and joined the pro-life movement after helping with an ultrasound abortion—an abortion where the doctor watches a live ultrasound so he can see what he’s doing. The baby was thirteen weeks old. Abby watched as the baby struggled for her life, clawing, trying to get away from the vacuum probe. Obviously, that little “fetus” could feel the probe. If babies can feel touch, why would they not be able to feel pain?

Thirteen weeks old

Thirteen weeks. Not twenty. Wow, that’s early.

Wait, I’m not finished yet.

Twelve weeks old

The Silent Scream is a video of a week twelve ultrasound abortion. (I have yet to see this video, mostly because my internet security program blocks it, understandably. I am also afraid to see it. I’ve seen the aftermath of abortion but watching it happen, watching murder happen—that’s different.) Though I haven't yet seen it myself, from the reports I've read the baby struggles for its life...and then screams.

But I’m suggesting earlier still. This quote taken from abortionfacts.com (The entire article is excellent and easy to read, if you want more facts than I am presenting here.).

“By this age [eight weeks] the neuro-anatomic structures are present. What is needed is (1) a sensory nerve to feel the pain and send a message to (2) the thalamus, a part of the base of the brain, and (3) motor nerves that send a message to that area. These are present at 8 weeks. The pain impulse goes to the thalamus. It sends a signal down the motor nerves to pull away from the hurt.”

Eight weeks old

Eight weeks. Weeks six to eight are when a majority of abortions are done.

Seven weeks old

 As if that wasn’t bad enough, there’s still another fact that makes it even more painful:

"Far from being less able to feel pain, such premature newborns may be more sensitive to pain"...that babies under 30 weeks have a "newly established pain system that is raw and unmodified at this tender age." P. Ranalli, Neuro. Dept., Univ. of Toronto

Last two quotes from here.

What’s more, something that can feel pain is at least partially conscious.

Unconscious people don’t shy away from vacuum probes.

Six weeks old

Images "Thirteen" "Twelve" "Seven" and "Six" were found here. All other images found via Google Images. No copyright infringement intended.

Life Begins Now (Part 1)

I posted When Does Life Begin? about a month ago, covering the basics of the “core issue” of the abortion debate. Now I’ll get down to the details of this critical question. In the aforementioned post I compiled a short list of the different opinions of when personhood begins, and I’ll go through that list now.

·        When the umbilical cord is cut

The idea behind this opinion is that the baby is just a part of the mother’s body. Therefore, until the baby is separated from the mother and no longer dependant on her, the baby isn’t a person. This idea is also the fundamental rallying cry behind the pro-abortion movement: a woman has the right to have control over her own body. Yes, of course she does.

The baby isn’t a part of her body.

The baby is connected to her mother’s body and dependant on her  mother’s body. That isn’t the same thing. Basic genetics shows this. Everybody knows the equation: man + woman = baby. Woman =/= baby. The baby has her own unique set of genes. If woman = baby, everybody would be clones of everybody else. Being connected to the woman’s body has absolutely no connection to whether the baby is a person or not.

·        When the baby breathes for the first time

Honestly, I don’t know what this is supposed to mean. What does breathing have to do with being a person? Dogs breathe, and that doesn’t mean they’re people. They’re alive and conscious, certainly, but they still aren’t people. Likewise, none-breathing, thinking, conscious, hearing human beings aren’t disqualified from being people because they don’t breathe. Drowning people aren’t disqualified from being human either.

·        When the baby develops bones

The time I heard this opinion voiced, the woman explained her reasoning like this (paraphrasing): “I think that once you’re breaking bones to abort the baby, it’s just too far along to abort it.” I can understand her feelings behind this, but developed bones by themselves don’t really have any logical connections to personhood. (It isn’t clear exactly when this woman meant. The baby has fully developed bones at about week 29 gestation, which is probably when she meant, or perhaps a bit earlier, but the bone development begins at about week 4 gestation.) However, connected with other things that are already developed, it does make a strong case for personhood.

·        When the baby is viable

This argument is irrelevant. When the baby is viable, she is able to survive outside the womb. The reasoning behind this also has to do with the argument that the baby is just a part of the woman’s body. However, when she’s able to live outside of the womb, then she must be her own person, right?

Let’s look at the most glaringly obvious obstacle to this reasoning. Science progresses. Would a twenty-three-week-old baby had survived back in the 1800s? Probably not. They can now. Were twenty-three-week-old babies less than people a few hundred years ago while they are people now? Or you could look at this argument disregarding science: if the baby can survive outside of the womb, without the help of science, then she is a person.

Lots of people are dependent on science for survival. Diseases, car crashes, disabilities. Does needing help from modern science degrade them as people? Of course not. Why then do we pin that “qualification” on unborn children?

Disregarding science entirely, people are dependent on other people. We all are. That’s part of being alive. We are dependent on others in some way shape or form as some time in our life. Like right after we are born. The twenty-three-week-old preemie is just as dependent on other people as the forty-week-old newborn. Sure, the preemie may need more intense care, but if you just left the forty-week newborn on the ground by himself he would die, just as the preemie would if left by herself.

I will continue breaking down these ideas in a few days. If you are interested, here is a detailed article about fetal development.

Images found via Google Images. No copyright infringement intended.

The Core Issue: When Does Life Begin?

It doesn’t matter what argument pro-abortioners have, it doesn’t matter what answer pro-lifers have. Whatever the specific debate, whatever the good reasons for either side, it all comes down to one, central question.

When does life begin?

Or, perhaps to be more specific, when does life begin to matter? I have heard people say “from conception”, and I have also heard people say “when the fetus breaths air for the first time”.

But to start with the basics, we do need to address when human life begins, period. So, here follows a crash course on human reproduction.

"The development of a human begins with fertilization, a process by which the spermatozoon from the male and the oocyte from the female unite to give rise to a new organism, the zygote." -- [Sadler, T.W. Langman's Medical Embryology. 7th edition]

Every person has their own, unique chromosomes. Forty-six of them, to be exact. The zygote is the earliest form of a new human there is – created in the sperm fertilizes the egg. The sperm has twenty-three chromosomes. The egg has twenty-three. Put them together, twenty-three plus twenty-three equals forty-six. Brand new genes, brand new person. These chromosomes, from the instant they are joined, specifies everything from gender to hair color to height. Everything is “decided” about the new human that isn’t affected by environment he is born into. This person’s genes are now completely different from that of his or her mother and father. (Notice that this renders the pro-abortion “a woman can do whatever she wants with her body” argument irrelevant.)

That’s the technical, scientific explanation for when a new human life begins. There is no debate over this.

Things get stickier when you actually need to decide when life begins to matter. When does killing a growing human change to murder? Or is it always murder? Does the morality change at all?

When does the zygote/embryo/fetus actually become a person? Opinions I have heard follow:

    1.   When the first brain waves are recorded. (There is debate over this. There’s debate over virtually every aspect about the timing of development of the fetus.)

    2.   When the heart begins to beat. (Obviously a functioning body now.)

    3.   When the fetus can feel pain. (Again, a lot of debate, and, if I may say so, a lot of lies.)

    4.   When the fetus develops bones.

 5.   When the baby is viable (can survive on its own outside the mother’s body). (Totally irrelevant for a number of reasons, the most obvious being that this relies on science, suggesting that the baby will achieve personhood earlier and earlier as science progresses.)

 6.   When the baby breathes. (I do not get this one. How does this mean personhood?)

 7.   When the umbilical cord is cut. (I don’t get this one either.)

8.   From conception.

Okay, are you ready for this? I could go into detailed analysis of each of these, and perhaps I will someday, but right now I won’t. Instead I dare suggest something else: it doesn’t matter. Yes, you read that right. It doesn’t matter when the baby becomes a person. Why? Though  evidence points overwhelmingly in favor of the baby, let's assume that, scientifically, we can't know when the baby becomes a person. Science proves nothing. Nobody can remmber being in the uterus.

Let’s say you’re out hunting behind your house. You had to be sneaky and clever and quick to make sure you got out without your little brother tagging along – you want to actually catch something this time. You hear rustling behind you and you turn around, aiming the gun. Now, it could be a rabbit in the underbrush. Or it could be your little brother. Do you not shoot, and risk the inconvenience of needing to hunt longer, or do you shoot and risk killing your brother?

Not a perfect analogy, but I hope you get my point. If there’s a possibility of a real, precious, human growing inside of a woman, hadn’t we better play it safe? Isn’t it better to risk nine months of inconvenience and then sorrow over adoption or money troubles because of another child, as opposed to the alternative: that you were responsible for the murder of an innocent child?

I don’t want to downplay the difficulties, hardships, and heartbreak that men and women and families go through because of unplanned pregnancies. But I don’t want to downplay the significance of thousands upon thousands of people unwittingly playing a hand in infanticide either.

Question for you: when do you believe life begins to matter? Why?

Note: Pictures taken from WebMD. No copyright infringement intended.