Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 27, 1990)
1990-1991 HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT: Paid Political Advertisement Humanity of the Unborn According to an article in the May 31, 1990 issue o f the New England Journal of Medicine, doc tors at the U niversity o f California, San Francisco, have su ccessfu lly perform ed m ajor surgery on a preborn child. The 54 m inute surgery repaired a diaphragm atic hernia in a 24 week old fetus. The baby was delivered seven weeks later and is a normal developing child. This latest advance in prena tal surgery is another nail in the coffin of abortion. From the tech nology that led to the birth of Baby Louise Brown, the first widely-known “test tube baby”, to this most recent advance in fetal surgery, the unborn baby itself is an active participant in the battle for its own recognition as a human being worthy of life. As techniques become more sophisticated, science will be able to enlarge this “window on the womb” earlier and earlier. Some of the finest pictures of the pre born baby can now be taken by means of fetoscopy, the use of a fiberoptic endoscope thrust into the uterus itself. Beautiful pic tures of the baby moving in its warm, fluid world are doing much to change abortion-bound minds to make a choice for life. The life processes begin at fer tilization, when the sperm unites with the egg to create a unique genetic entity for each preborn. After fertilization the growing cell cluster spends about three days in the Fallopian tube and three days in the uterine cavity before it begins burrowing into the wall of the uterus. Through placental chemicals and hormones, the tiny life begins to influence virtually all the mother’s organs and tis sues. In the small balloon-like sac of waters, the growing life nests in the soft lining o f the womb. This burrowing is called implan tation. Even before this, the cells start to organize themselves (“dif ferentiation” ) as they multiply rapidly, and all the familiar bodi ly systems and organs of the tiny being appear in subsequent weeks.' By 5 1/2 weeks, the preborn’s heartbeat is similar to that of an adult and is sometimes traceable by electrocardiogram. At 6 and 7 weeks, the beating of the heart is functioning and readily observe- able by the doctor. And all this happens before many women even seek tests to find out whether they might be pregnant.2 The preborn baby’s electroen cephalogram (EEG) is readable at three months, and 4 month old EEGs are influenced by sleep- inducing and stimulant drugs. Research on EEGs finds that each baby has a distinctive pattern that becomes personalized long before birth. At 9 weeks in the womb, the baby can bend its little fingers around an object placed in its hand. He or she (the sex is fixed at fertiliza tion ) can suck its thum b and react to pain. The entire body is sensitive to touch, and the tiny baby can turn its head, curl its toes and fingers. The mouth can open and close, and might even smile. Since the vocal cords are completed, we are told that the baby would even cry if he could. In the womb, a baby lives in a sea o f sound. Researchers have eavesdropped on him by means of a tiny microphone inserted into the uterus. Daphne and Charles Maurer, authors of The World of the Newborn, describe the racket the baby hears from his mother’s heart, intestines and lungs as very noisy. Dr. Jeffrey Phelan of the M atern al-F etal M edicine department o f Queen of the Valley Hospital in West Covina, Calif., played tapes to a pregnant woman of everything from bird songs to a passing train. A micro phone in her uterus picked up almost every sound.1 By the 12th week of interuter- ine life, the small preborn baby is a fully developed, functioning human body in miniature, 3 inch es in length and weighing about 1/2 ounce. The fetus, or little one, has fingerprints and facial expres sions. G enetically, horm onally and in all organic respects save the source of its nourishment, this fetus is separate from the woman, its mother.4 During the second trimester the baby, fully coordinated, curls as the mother moves and stretch es when the mother rests. The LOVE JO Y SURGtCENTER | D OW NTOW N WOMEN’S CENTER Fifth month — 20 Weeks — Portland Yellow Page There is never “a good reason" to kill a baby. On the day of birth the child, already a living and active person as we have seen, makes a change in his place of residence. As he has already gone through many progressive, overlapping stages of growth and development, so will he, from birth, continue the life begun nine months ago, moving through childhood, adolescence, maturity, old age and death. All I f a preborn is not human, what is it? I f not alive, why kill it? I f not a person, why abortion? baby can hiccup, and it kicks and punches the mother as it seeks a comfortable position within her. The baby has fine hair over its entire body and a white ointment called vemix protects its delicate skin from the waters surrounding it. N orm ally an unborn baby never exp erien ces hunger or thirst. But if a mother does not consume sufficient nutrients, the baby’s diet will not be adequate either. When a fetus is severely m alnourished - for instance, because his mother’s heavy smok ing restricts blood flow to the pla centa - Dr. Jason Birnholz, an ultrasound expert, believes, he has seen the baby’s chest and throat making crying motions.5 Some infants who might be born during this second trimester of interuterine life would survive outside the womb with adequate care. Later in the pregnancy the baby can use all of his senses. Brian Satt, a research specialist in clin ical p sychology in California, has parents sing a lul laby-like “womb song” to their unborn baby. The baby often develops a specific, consistent movement pattern when his song is sung. After birth, the parents can use the “womb song” to calm the fussy newborn!.* Vision is perhaps the sense which is least important in the womb. However, a bright light shining on the m other’ s belly causes the baby to open its eyes and turn his face toward the light. He can see a faint glow. Taste buds are well-developed and the baby prefers a sweet taste, according to doctors. The skin o f the baby thickens and begins to look polished. A layer of fat is stored beneath the skin for insulation and as a food supply, as the little preborn triples in weight and grows in length. that is needed is nourishment, loving care and time to grow.7 1. Bernard N. Nathanson. M.D., Aborting America Doubleday & Co, Inc., 1979. pg. 198 2. Ibid, pg 198 3. “The Fascinating World o f the Unborn”, by Henci Goer. Reader's Digest, November, 1989. Pg. 151. 4 Nathanson, op cit. Pg. 204. 5. Reader's Digest, op. cit. Pg. 152 6. Ibid 152 7. “When You Were Formed In Secret", Gary Bergel, with remarks by C. Everett Koop. M D. pamphlet. Intercessors for America. Co 1980. P.O. Box D , Elyria. Ohio 44036 C f u r W estern w ay o f life h as com e to a p a r tin g o f th e w ey s; tim e’s ta k e o v e r bid fo r etern ity h as rea ch ed th e p o in t a t w h ich irrevoca b le d ecision s h a ve to be ta ken . E ith er w e g o on with th e p ro cess o f sh a p in g o u r ow n d estin y w ith ou t r e fe r e n ce to a n y h ig h er bein g than man, d ecid in g ou rselves how m any ch ild ren sh o u ld be b o m , w hen a n d in w h a t varieties, w hich lives a re w orth c o n tin u in g a n d w hich sh ou ld be p u t out, from w hom sp a re p a rts ■ kidneys, hearts, g en ita ls, bra in -boxes even • sh a ll be ta ken a n d to whom allotted . O r we d ra w ba ck, seek in g to u n d erstan d a n d fa ll in with o u r C rea to r’s p u rp ose fo r us ra th er than p u rsu e o u r ow n ; in tru e hum ility p ra yin g, as th e fou n d er o f ou r religion a n d o u r civiliza tion ta u g h t us: Thy w ill be done. “This is w h a t th e a bortion con troversy is about, a n d w hat the eu th a n a sia con tro v ersy w ill be a b ou t when, as m ust in evita bly h a pp en soon, it arises. The lo g ica l se q u e l to th e d estru ction o f w h a t a re ca lled u nw a n ted ch ild ren ’ w ill be th e elim in a tion o f w h a t w ill be ca lled ‘u n w a n ted liv es’ — a legisla tive m ea su re w hich so fa r in a ll h um an h istory on ly th e N azi govern m en t h as ven tu red to en act. “In th is sen se the a b ortion con troversy is th e m ost vital a n d releva n t o f all. F o r we ca n su rvive en erg y crisis, in flation , wars, revolu tion s a n d in su rrec tions, as th ey h a ve been su rvived in th e p a st; but i f w e tra n sgress a ga in st the very basis o f o u r m ora l existen ce, b ecom in g o u r ow n g od s in o u r own universe, then w e sh a ll su rely a n d d eserved ly p erish from th e e a r th .” M alcolm M u ggerid ge (lAtndon S unday Times a s rep rin ted in P rolife R esou rce M a n u a l “ Why We S ta n d .” B oca R aton, Florida.) From Abortion to Holocaust? “How will we treat preborn humans?” That is the basic question. How we decide to treat preborn humans, will also decide how we treat born h um ans — in fa n ts, women, handicapped, elderly, racial/behavior/ religious groups. German physicians destroyed preborns, handicapped, the mentally inferior, and homosexuals long before they went after the Jews. You say, “No, that can't happen here. It will stop.” How? When? Who will stop it? The self-appointed elite in governm ent, media and family planning/population control/feminist organizations who imposed abortion upon America in the first place, aren’t about to stop it. Faye Wattleton, Pres, of Planned Parenthood has said: “Ours is a grand mission....abortion is the tip of the iceberg.”If they are cal loused toward the unborn, the most precious and innocent being in all of creation, this is their standard. Will we allow them to run every aspect of our lives from education to economics to laws to “who lives and who dies” ft using a standard that disrespects human life? If this elite takes increas ing control of the state with no moral standards guiding them, you may be next. M oral restra in ts are gone, replaced by self-interest, convenience or pleasure. Who or what will stop the slippery slope toward holocaust if you and I do not? If, in your heart and in your con science, you know abortion is wrong — that our country cannot promote what is wrong, and endure — here is your chance to help right the wrong by voting “yes" on Measure 8 and pro life candidates. If you have observed that our society’s stand ard s and morals have been deteriorating, here is your chance to vote to stop the decay process — to help rebuild stan dards that respect the dignity of human life. We can construct the type of soci ety we want by how we vote. Do we want a society where defenseless humans are killed for mere selfish convenience?
